ZPS-14
by BertGlamGa
Summary: This is a story about a group of survivors, trying to make their way in the world. They start out in Georgia, travel across much of the USA, and eventually end up in Europe thanks to people they meet! The title is a reference to the way this story was created. Nearly all characters based loosely on real people/TWD characters. "Foul" language, slight gore, and minor sex scenes.
1. Chapter 1: End

**Chapter 1 "End"**  
><strong>Day 1<strong>

It was June 3rd, 2016, and a group of friends would soon become a group of survivors. They had just graduated high school in small-town New Mexico and were celebrating with a road trip across the United States. Driving the car was Robert Hutchins, a thoughtful young man who cared deeply for each of his friends. He was slender, brunet, and had stunning green eyes.

Next to him in the passenger seat was his best friend, Lily King, who was a very smart, short girl who was quite talented at telling jokes. In the back seat was two girls, LaRissa and Lyrik. LaRissa Masterson was a moderately funny girl with high hopes for her future, hoping to go into nursing at Texas Tech. Lyrik Bernthal was a black girl obsessed with music, pop culture, and being right.

The foursome was just coming from Dallas, Texas, after having spent the last few days there. They were just arriving in a small town in Georgia, headed for Atlanta, and were running low on gas. Robert pulled into the first convenience store they found, a quaint little blue and white building on a crowded block in the middle of the city.

"All right," he sighed calmly. "LaRissa, you stay here and pump, I'm gonna go in and get drinks. Do you guys want anything?"

"Um..." Lyrik started, "I'll just go in with you."

"Me too," Lily said.

"You know what I want," LaRissa told Robert. "Just coffee."

Robert nodded his head and they all exited the car. LaRissa readied the pump and went right to her phone, texting and playing Candy Crush.

Lily, Lyrik, and Robert entered the gas station and immediately split off. Robert went for the coffee, getting himself and LaRissa one. For himself, a caramel espresso. For LaRissa, a French vanilla frappe. Lily went to the fridges in the back to get a drink, and Lyrik went straight for the candy.

"No Faygo!" Lily moaned loudly from her aisle.

After the coffees were filled, Robert met Lily in the drinks section. "There's no Faygo," she said sadly.

Robert smiled at her, rolling his eyes. "I heard."

She smiled at herself and continued eying the shelves. "Should I get water or Sprite?" she asked.

"Well, whatever you do, don't get that," Robert said, pointing to an orange liquid with red and yellow chunks floating around in it, resembling bottled vomit.

"Ew," Lily scoffed. "I think I'll just get Sprite." Lyrik came around the shelves, her left arm incapacitated, filled with candy; Skittles and Nerds falling out from between her fingers. She bent over and grabbed a Dr. Pepper, encumbering the last free limb she had. Robert and Lily rolled their eyes fondly at her.

The three went for the counter to check out with their items. Lyrik dumped her armful of candy onto the counter in front of the cashier on shift. He was a middle-aged Latino with squinty brown eyes and lots of prison-style tattoos, but was pretty short for a guy his age. His name tag read "Javier, yo." Lyrik seemed attracted to him, judging by the way the two were eyeing and chatting each other up.

As he was ringing them up, a scrawny man with wild blonde hair and big green eyes burst through the doors and ducked into the closest aisle. The expression on his face was of pure horror. "Get down!" he yelled to them, to which the cashier and Robert lifted their brows. As the cashier was about to speak, presumably to ask the crazy man to leave, a shrill scream was heard outside. LaRissa had fallen, her leg tangled in the gas pump. Her phone was lying in front of her, the screen now completely shattered, and she was struggling to free her leg as a group of scary-looking people approached. Some were missing fingers, walking with a limp, or had huge, open gashes on their bodies with blood staining their clothes and skin. There must have been nearly twenty of them, and they were close to LaRissa.

"What the fuck are they doing?" Lily swore in confusion as Robert and Lyrik panicked and ran to the door to help LaRissa.

"No!" Screamed the man cowering in the aisle. Robert and Lyrik staggered in shock, and he jumped in front of the door, blocking the way of anyone trying to get in or out. "They're monsters. I heard someone call them walkers. They're like mutations of humans or something. Whatever they are, they're dangerous. I barely escaped them," he said as he pulled up his dirty sleeve, revealing a huge gash on his left arm. "One of them bit me. They aren't normal. They don't think or care in any way. They just want to eat. I should know. My girlfriend did this to me."

Everyone looked on in horror. Lily and Javier looked like they were about to puke. "You're going to die, aren't you?" Lyrik asked him.

"I don't know," he said, looking quite sad.

"What's your name?" Robert asked him.

"Jackson, but it doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you don't go outside. And that she doesn't get in. Sorry, but she's on her own now. If those things — those walkers — see us, we're dead!"

"We can't just leave her out there!" Lyrik said. Their attention was drawn back to the gas pumps as LaRissa had freed her leg and was nearly at the doors. She pushed on the handle and the doors opened slightly, but then Jackson threw his weight onto them. LaRissa peered in and saw the man then looked past him to her friends. She screamed, begging them to get him off and to let her in. Lily didn't budge, believing the strange man. She wasn't about to get herself killed. Robert thought that Jackson's words held some weight as well, but he and Lyrik did their best to get the man off the doors.

"No!" Jackson yelled, grabbing a display case full of lighters and flinging them at the two. "I'm sorry, but you don't know what you're doing! Would you rather one die, or all of us die?!"

"I'd prefer if none of us died," Robert said. He looked to the cashier, "Are you just going to stand there the whole time or are you going to do something?!" He looked to Lily, continuing. "Help us!"

The man behind the desk was nervous and was already at the back door. When the teenagers turned to him, he bolted out to the back alley and escaped. Lily watched, her weight shifting toward the door, but she knew she could not leave her friends like this. Bravely, she began trying to get Jackson off of the doors as well.

The walkers outside were getting dangerously close to LaRissa as she was putting all of her weight against the doors. She grew desperate, and began banging her fists against the windows of the door, hoping to knock out the glass and get in. The walkers were now close enough to reach out and touch her. Finally, teaming up together and using brute force, the three were able to get Jackson off the doors, and LaRissa fell to the ground as her weight swung the doors open.

While trying to get herself up, a walker fell on top of her, and she screamed in panic. She scrambled, trying to get to her feet, but the walker chomped down into her right leg, ripping right through her jeans and pulling out veins and muscle, viciously digging into her calf. Robert and Lyrik dragged her in while Lily and Jackson kicked at the walker on top of LaRissa, flinging it back into the crowd of walkers. Lily, Lyrik, and Jackson tried closing the door again, but the weight of about twenty undead corpses was too much to fight. Robert was on the ground attempting to help LaRissa, and told Lyrik to run and get supplies to help LaRissa while he did his best with what he had near him.

Hastily, she bolted off into the aisles, searching frantically for something help LaRissa with. Lily and Jackson were struggling to keep the doors closed. The wild-looking man told Lily to hold onto the doors while he went to get something to put against them. Lyrik returned to Robert with bandages and alcohol. Robert did his best to use the bandages to stop the bleeding as LaRissa was hemorrhaging blood and was only faintly conscious. The doors suddenly burst open and Lily fell onto a knee, scraping it open, but quickly got up and screamed, "We have to go! Now!"

Jackson was dragging an ice cream fridge to the doors when Lily fell, and he cursed under his breath. He ran to LaRissa and helped Lily and Lyrik get a good hold on her.

"Get her out of here," Jackson advised them as he released the unconscious teenager.

"Are you serious?!" Robert shouted in frustration, refusing to let him go.

"Yeah," Jackson curtly stated quickly before recklessly jumping into the crowd of walkers. The creatures began devouring him, and Lyrik and Lily could only watch in horror.

"Come on!" Robert yelled, and they stumbled out of the back doors, Robert running ahead to find help. They went down the alley in the opposite way that the walkers were coming from and made it to the door. They struggled to keep LaRissa up, and two walkers had followed them out of the backdoor by the time they were halfway down the alley. When they made it to the street, LaRissa fell, and the walkers were coming quickly.

A car was coming down the street and Robert and Lily ran to stand in front of it. It stopped and Robert approached the car quickly to make sure it did not drive back off. Lily went back to Lyrik to help LaRissa back up and out of the alley. About three walkers were beginning to appear from other sides of the streets.

Robert opened the back door to see that the back seat was filled with groceries and he pushed them to the floorboard.

"Hey!" said the old man driving. "What are you doing?!"

"My friend is hurt and we need help. If anything back here got damaged, I'll pay you back. Just take us to the hospital."

Robert ran back to help them carry LaRissa, and Lyrik got in first. The three cooperated to gently get LaRissa in next to Lyrik, and the bitten girl's torso fell limply onto Lyrik. Robert jumped into the passenger seat as Lily tried her best to get LaRissa further in so she could get in as well. They took off with walkers all around them, headed to the hospital.

"Thanks, sir," Robert said. "My name's Robert Hutchins. That's Lily," he gestured to them, "that's Lyrik, and my hurt friend there is LaRissa. What's your name?"

The man looked a bit nervous, unsure of what exactly what was going on. "H-Hershel," he stuttered out confusedly, "Hershel Greene." After an awkward pause, he continued. "Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what happened to your friend, there?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Robert stated. "A crazy man locked her out of this convenience store we were in, and those things back there, 'walkers' he called them, there were more of 'em. A lot of 'em. One fell on top of her, and bit into her leg. She nearly died of blood loss, but we kinda managed to get the bleeding to stop before the doors burst open and we had to bolt."

The car swerved around a corner, dodging a walker in the road. Just a few blocks farther and they were in front of the local hospital. There were people inside in police uniforms shooting at the ravaged people, which were everywhere. "Fuck!" exclaimed Lily as she angrily looked down to LaRissa. "What are we gonna do now?"

Robert furrowed his brows at the confusing scene, watching as people were shot repeatedly in the chest but still kept coming. "I don't fucking know," he said. "Is there somewhere else we can go?" He desperately asked the driver.

Already driving away from the gruesome scene, Hershel opened up to them. "I'm a veterinarian. We can go back to my farm outside of town and I can help your friend there."

"My friend isn't exactly a cat, sir…" Robert replied worriedly.

"You got much choice?" Hershel retorted

"Thank you so much," Lyrik said to him before anyone else could reply. "Really."

The old man nodded kindly. "Just don't make me regret this," he said, looking seriously into the rearview mirror to them.

* * *

><p>They made it to his farm about thirty minutes later and were met at the driveway by his son, Shawn, and two daughters, Maggie and Beth. Shawn asked what happened, and Hershel told him to help the teenagers get LaRissa inside. The young farmer picked up the stranger as Hershel rushed inside to prepare his medical supplies. Maggie and Beth were told to get the groceries from the car and to bring them inside.<p>

When they entered, LaRissa was laid onto the couch, and Hershel's wife approached from the kitchen. "Honey, what's happening? Who are these people? We already have guests over, dear." In the kitchen was two fat men and an old blonde lady. One of the fat men resembled Maggie and had moderately long, deep black hair. The other one was wearing camouflage, with stubbly, balding hair. He was sat next to his aging blonde wife. They looked on in worry and confusion.

"Hello, Otis. Patricia. Arnold," Hershel said in a rush. They nodded, feigning smiles, still looking confused. "Annette, get me some peroxide and bandages," he said to his wife. She turned to the couple at the kitchen table, smiled politely, and excused herself to go upstairs. She came back down shortly afterwards and they both attempted to help LaRissa.

After half an hour doing the best they could for LaRissa, Hershel invited Robert, Lily, and Lyrik to join them for dinner. The three were all quite taken by Shawn, as he was very handsome and kind. Otis and Patricia left shortly after to their home in town. Annette and Hershel apologized for ruining their night, and they talked about the monsters that hurt LaRissa and apparently killed a man that Robert and his friends had met that day. Otis and Patricia thought the teenagers might be lying, but Hershel vouched for them, seeing the strange people himself. Annette suggested that they might just be sick people desperate for help.

After a few hours of waiting, LaRissa had remained unconscious, and Hershel decided they should move her to a bedroom. He invited the teenagers to stay the night with him and gave them rooms to sleep in. Robert got a room of his own, while Lyrik and Lily shared a room.

* * *

><p><p>

_This is a huge story that I've already written a LOT of (all the way up to chapter 18 as of posting this), so this story isn't going ANYWHERE! I'll be posting chapters twice per day until I catch up to another site I'm posting this to, so chapter 14 should be up by November 3rd! From then, expect a chapter every other day. Definitely need you guys to rate and review, as you always should with stories! Any and all feedback is welcome. Make suggestions, complain, compliment, correct me, do whatever!_


	2. Chapter 2: Easy

**Chapter 2 "Easy" **

**Day 2**

The next morning, Robert woke up to the smell of homemade eggs and bacon, a scent he hadn't smelled in many years. For a moment he thought that he was back at his grandmother's house and that she had made him breakfast. He then remembered everything that had happened. How that crazy man had died. How LaRissa had been bitten. And that he and his friends were now living under the roof of strangers on a farm in the middle of nowhere.

Robert rose out of bed and was about to put on the clothes he wore yesterday, but he was surprised to see that they were gone. In their place were fresh clothes: a fresh pair of blue jeans, black socks, plain black boxers, and a green plaid short-sleeved button-up. He put them on and went downstairs, where he saw Annette and Beth working at the stove, while Hershel was at the table reading a newspaper, with Shawn and Arnold sitting next to him. Hershel looked over to see Robert standing at the stairs and smiled. "Good morning, son! Did you sleep well?" Robert nodded, giving a slight smile in return.

"I see you found my clothes," said Shawn. "Since y'all lost all your luggage yesterday, we decided it wouldn't be any harm to lend y'all some clothes. Beth and Maggie gave some of their clothes to your friends, too." Shawn looked to be in his mid to late twenties, and had stunning eyes of hazel. He was wearing a plain white shirt, as he often did, and blue jeans just like the pair Robert was given. Like his father and his step-cousin, he wore brown, worn-out cowboy-style boots. His smile was enticing, and he looked very friendly. His dad was almost the opposite, fat and wrinkly, with squinty, dark eyes, in frumpier, duller clothes, including brown overalls. According to Maggie the night before, who had brought his birthday that was a few weeks back, he was 72. Arnold was a very plump, nerdy-looking man that seemed a bit shy. He was Maggie's cousin. Hershel's first wife was named Josephine, and he had Maggie with her. She died sometime later, and he got remarried to Annette, who had had Shawn from a previous marriage. The two then had Beth together. Arnold was Josephine's brother Jonathan's son, and was visiting for the summer.

Annette, their mother, looked very pretty for her age. She had very long brown hair that went to her lower back, though most often it was up in a bun. She must have been about fifty, and she liked to wear long dresses. Beth was a very attractive girl, just like her older sister Maggie. Beth had long blonde hair and was quite scrawny. Maggie was the opposite, with short brunette hair, and seemed to be more fit, with a very shapely figure.

Robert joined the men at the table, making small talk. Lily and Lyrik came down the stairs about twenty minutes later, dressed in fresh clothes that seemed a bit long on them as the duo were both quite short. Lily was a very short girl with a bit of meat on her and mid-length brunette hair. Lyrik was almost a mirror image in terms of proportions, except she was dark-skinned with quite short, nappy, black hair.

Seeing them made Robert remember LaRissa, who was as plump as the other two girls, but was just as tall as Robert and had long, reddish-brown hair. "How's LaRissa doing?" he asked.

Hershel seemed to remember something as well, and he half-smiled at Robert. "Go see for yourself," he said. Robert looked to Lyrik and Lily and the three hurried upstairs to LaRissa's room. She was awake. She was still quite weak, but she was eating and drinking.

Though obviously in pain, LaRissa smiled at them as they came in. "Guys, hey," she said. They smiled back at her. "I know I don't look so good-"

Lily laughed to herself. "Don't look so good now? Should have seen yourself _before_ this happened!" Robert and Lyrik looked to Lily, slightly shocked she couldn't keep her humor to herself at a time like this, despite both of them smiling about it.

LaRissa half-smiled weakly. "Thanks, Lily. But thank you guys so much for helping me out, bringing me here. I'd be dead if you guys didn't do anything."

Looking at her, Robert was getting concerned. Even though Hershel had helped fix the bite wound, LaRissa still didn't look very good. She was still wearing the same clothes from yesterday, her sheer pink top was now stained with blood and dirt. She looked even more ill than when they arrived. Robert thought to himself, _You're dead anyways, _but smiled at her and reassured her, "Of course. We're best friends."

Annette walked in and told them that LaRissa needed her rest, and that Hershel could use their help. She smiled at LaRissa as she closed the door behind them and led them back to the kitchen. As they were eating, they spoke solemnly about LaRissa. "I'm just sayin'," Lyrik sighed, "I'm pretty sure LaRissa's not gonna make it."

* * *

><p>Hershel took them outside and showed them around his land. He asked if Robert's group were willing or able in any way to help out around here while they stayed. They all agreed to help with anything Hershel needed, whether it be helping to take care of LaRissa or helping with the animals. Robert then volunteered to help with the farming, realizing that Hershel probably had more things in mind for them to do than to laze around until someone or something gets sick. Lily quickly caught on and joined, as well. Hershel smiled at them and nodded his head.<p>

"Great," he said. "For now, let's go back and tidy up a spare bedroom or two. We have a few people movin' in, and we should make room for everybody."

"More?" Lyrik asked hesitantly, worried that the teens may be kicked out soon to make room for people the family actually knows.

"Yeah, three more," Hershel nodded. "They can't live in town anymore. They say it's way too dangerous with all the walkers around. People gettin' sick left and right." The teens nodded politely, hardly able to imagine what being surrounded by what they experienced yesterday would be like.

* * *

><p>Due to the new additions to the household, Robert was forced to move in with LaRissa. LaRissa had come down with a heavy fever later that day, and couldn't move at all without experiencing crippling pain. That night, Robert was sitting next to LaRissa in her bed, talking to her as she drifted to sleep about how they should try to get back home soon, assuming that the walkers were disposed of, having seen very few here in Hershel's secluded lands.<p>

"We should get back on the road as soon as we can," Robert said, looking down to meet LaRissa's eyes, but they were closed.

"I'm sorry," LaRissa choked out forcefully.

"Don't be. It's not your fault that psychopath — what was it, Jackson? — put you in danger. To be honest, I'm kinda glad he's dead now." Robert looked back down at her. She was so pale. She looked weak. If she didn't start getting better soon, this might be the end for her. He looked away, out the window, watching clouds roll in. "You're gonna to make it," he said, trying to reassure himself more than he was her.

After a long pause, LaRissa's wheezing breath faded into silence. Robert's breath caught. He slowly looked to her, hoping she was simply yawning, or stretching. Of course, she wasn't. She wasn't breathing at all. Robert began to panic. He began shaking her, and she was so frail, so weak. He put his ear to her chest. Nothing.

Robert got off the bed and ran to Hershel's bedroom door. He pounded his fists against the wood. "Hershel! Annette! Get up, I need you right now!"

"What do you want?! Just a second!" Hershel yelled angrily and groggily through the closed door.

"I think LaRissa's dead!" Robert screamed, running back to LaRissa. Hershel came out a few moments later with some serious bed head, followed by Annette, dressed only in a silk robe. They rushed into LaRissa and Robert's room and checked for the girl's vitals. Seeing no response, Hershel decided to try CPR.

Despite all of their attempts, Hershel got no response. No matter what the old couple tried, it appeared that it was no use. He pronounced her as dead, and lifted the sheet over her cold head. A teenage girl's life had just been lost out of what appeared to be insane, senseless violence. A group of friends had just lost a dear friend at a time in their lives that they should not even be considering death.

Robert grabbed his stuff and decided to bunk with Lily and Lyrik that night, not wanting to sleep next to the dead body of one of his closest friends.

"I hate to say it, but I told you so," Lyrik said. Lily rolled her eyes, noticing Robert was very upset.

"Come on, Lyrik, really?" Lily questioned angrily. "We all know you don't hate to say that., but this is _absolutely _not the time for that."

Robert ignored the whole conversation and rolled over on the bed they made him on the floor, facing away from them. He cried himself to sleep, thinking about all the things he hadn't gotten to say to her. How much she must have suffered before she finally just let go. How her last words were "I'm sorry." The entire situation was awful, and he couldn't believe that LaRissa was _dead. _This had to be a dream. This was unreal. Lily and Lyrik did their best to comfort him, to the point that they both began to cry, too. Tonight, they lost a true friend, and they would never forget it.


	3. Chapter 3: Turned

**Chapter 3 "Turned" **

**Day 3**

It was a warm summer night. Clouds were heavily rolling in, making the dark night even darker. It was about 4:00 A.M., about an hour and a half before anyone usually woke up in the house. A loud thud was heard from LaRissa's room that woke up Annette. At first she thought it was Robert getting up for something, but then she remembered that he had went to bed with Lily and Lyrik. Annette slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She slipped on her favorite, mauve pink robe off of the coat hanger by her bed. She loved to collect robes and had a row of about thirty of them. Baby blue, yellow, black, white, pastel green, flannel, red just for Hershel, and her favorite one that her mother gave her for her birthday many years ago: mauve pink.

She made her way to LaRissa's room and put her ear against the door, thinking someone could have went in there to be with her, or to claim something of hers now that she has dead. After hearing only what sounded like soft moaning, she called out.

"Hello? Is anyone in there?" Her words were met by an even louder growl, and what sounded like footsteps towards the door. "LaRissa?" Annette questioned concernedly.

Another groan was made in reply. Annette smiled widely. _LaRissa's awake! It's a miracle!_ she thought to herself. She opened the door quickly, arms wide open to hug LaRissa, but all too late Annette realized that LaRissa was very pale, and was baring her teeth at her. She screamed, and fell backwards. As she fell, LaRissa swiped at her, and grabbed onto her robe's sleeve, dragging the undead girl down, too. LaRissa fell onto Annette and she screamed again, trying hard to push against LaRissa's weight. Hershel opened the door to his bedroom to investigate the screams and saw the fresh walker on his wife. He went back to search his closet for his gun.

Though she put in her best effort, Annette was quite a frail, old woman, and she soon lost her ability to fight against LaRissa's weight. LaRissa bit right into Annette's face as she wailed in anguish, eating at the elder woman's flesh. A hole was left in place of where the old woman's left cheek once was. LaRissa continued eating, swallowing down the nose and going for more.

Hershel finally arrived with the shotgun. Most people in the house were now awake and standing in the hall, witnessing the horrific event. Patricia screamed in horror, burying her face into Otis's chest. Beth tried running to her mother, but Jimmy held her back. Hershel drew back tears and aimed his shotgun at LaRissa's chest. He shot, but she continued eating. He gasped, and took a step backwards in shock. Annette was now dead underneath this immortal monster. LaRissa looked up and growled at him.

The growl provoked Hershel and he glared at the undead teen. His eyes were filled with rage. This creature, no longer a person, attacked his wife — attacked his family. He stood up, holding back more tears and shot the walker again in the neck, and when that failed, he shot her between the eyes. She fell, and he now knew what he had to do. He pointed his gun down at Annette, unconscious. He shot her right in the head, doing his best to remain composed.

He looked up. Robert, Lyrik, Patricia, and Beth were in tears. Otis, Lily, Arnold, Maggie, Jimmy, and Shawn looked on in disbelief and pure shock. "Let's get this cleaned up," Hershel said in a shaky yet firm voice.

Maggie took LaRissa's sheets off of her bed and handed them both to Hershel. Shawn and Hershel lifted Annette's body up and wrapped it in the sheet. They then repeated this with LaRissa. The two lifted Annette up and carried her downstairs. As they were going down, Hershel instructed Arnold and Otis to grab LaRissa's body. They carried the two outside to the front steps and into a wheelbarrow they used for gardening. Shawn pushed them to a nice spot in the field, underneath two big trees. Otis and Shawn began digging graves as the sun rose toward the clouds in the distance.

* * *

><p>Later that day, when the two were done, a funeral was held. Their bodies were lowered into the graves and buried. Hershel conducted the funeral.<p>

"Today, we're here to mourn the loss of two kind individuals. Annette Greene, my dear wife, and LaRissa Masterson, a dear friend. Though the body is...withered," he stuttered as he thought of their maimed bodies, "the soul lives on. They are with God now, looking down on us," Hershel looked up, into the only clear spot of sky through the clouds. He could not help but shed a tear as he looked back down. "I'm sorry," he whispered. He composed himself, and looked up. "Does anyone have any words they'd like to share?"

Surprisingly, Beth stepped forward first. Her boyfriend, Jimmy, loosed his hold of her and allowed her to go forward. "A long time ago, I was told a poem by one of my friends in school. I wrote that poem down because I thought it was so beautiful. I want to share it with you all… I want to share it with you, mom."

Beth looked up and closed her eyes. She moved her head back towards the graves, eyes still closed. She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the piece of paper. She opened her eyes, her expression as though it were painful to open them. Painful to accept her mother's fate. She began to recite the poem.

"Every time that I smile,

Every time that I sigh,

I think of your face,

And a tear escapes my eye.

You were my world,

My inspiration and my heart,

But when you left me,

I thought I would fall apart.

You were my best friend,

My one true 'confidante',

And that's not all you were,

You were also my mom.

I didn't want to live without you,

But you would have wanted me to,

And if there's anyone I want to make happy,

That anyone is you.

I would have given anything to have you back,

But I know now that it was meant to be,

For you are still watching from up there,

And I know you're watching me.

I'll make you proud mom,

I'm going to fulfill your wish,

You're going to see me and smile,

That's a daughter's promise."

She folded the paper back up and clutched it in her fist. Nearly everyone was crying now. The Greenes were a mess, weeping into one another, Shawn and Maggie hugging each other tightly. Beth turned back to Jimmy, who went to give her a big hug, but she rejected him.

Hershel again was letting his emotions overcome him. Through his weeping he said, "Anyone else?"

Robert stepped forward, looking a bit nervous. "I don't have a beautiful poem, or anything memorized or planned to say. But I have my memories. The sentiments and love. I just wanted to speak on behalf of LaRissa, since not many of you here knew her very well. And sadly, now you never will get the chance to. LaRissa was a good person. Sometimes, her intent may have been to seem better than she thinks she is, trying to overcompensate for what she doesn't need to. Doubting herself every step of the way. But everything she did, she did with a good heart. She meant well at all times. Never did she attack or hurt a person that hadn't wronged her in some way. She didn't deserve to die. Not this early. She had so much to live for. Though she won't be able to continue on with us, she will always be on my mind. I will never forget her. And I hope none of you do, either. Thank you."

Robert stepped back and Lily wrapped her arm around him. Hershel, now much more composed, nodded to everyone, signalling for someone else to speak if they so wished. When no one did, he spoke up, "Anyone? Maggie?" The brunette shook her head at her father, and he looked to Shawn, who was crying, staring at the ground. Hershel nodded his head and brought the funeral to a close. Everyone went inside to get started on dinner and to move on.

Right after dinner, Hershel locked himself in his room and wasn't heard from again until the next morning. He would not answer his door and generally ignored everyone else in the house. This became a habit.

* * *

><p><em>DISCLAIMER: the poem recited by Beth is not my own, and is titled "A Mother's Promise" by Allie B. Quaglieri. No copyright infringement is intended.<em>


	4. Chapter 4: Get Out

**Chapter 4 "Get Out"**

**Day 9**

It had been nearly a week since LaRissa and Annette passed. Since then, Hershel has kept himself locked up in his room, constantly drinking or weeping. He refuses to open the door, and only comes out to use the restroom or to eat. Beth and Shawn, similarly, have spent most of their time alone in the fields, or just being very distant. With Shawn, Beth, and Hershel down, Otis, Arnold, Jimmy, and Robert's group have stepped up to fill in the role of farmer, making sure everything that needs to get tended to does.

On this morning, Otis tried to convince Hershel to come out and be with the group. Hershel opened the door and spit some of his alcohol at Otis's chest. He noticed Robert and Lily observing, and yelled at them. "It's your fault that Annette is dead! I want you off of my property, now! Leave, and don't you ever come back!"

Maggie, Patricia, Arnold, and Jimmy came out of their rooms, hearing the commotion. They stood against the drunk man, not allowing his depression and intoxication to cause more pain.

"Daddy," Maggie yelled back at her father, "you need to stop that right now. You know it's not their fault. It ain't no one's fault. We couldn't have known." Arnold and Jimmy nodded their heads.

"Hershel, you know I love you, and you know I loved Annette," Patricia said, "but you are acting like a sore jackass right now. These people have been nothing but kind and helpful since they've gotten here. If you kick them out, Otis and I are leaving with them."

"Me too," said Arnold.

"Same here," Maggie added. "You have no right to kick these people out. You lost your wife, but we lost our mama. Our aunt. Our best friend. We're all hurting, but we have to move on." Maggie walked up to her dad and grabbed the alcohol out of his hand and threw it out of the nearest window, right into the wheelbarrow outside.

Hershel, still drunk, hiccuped. He had a look of defeat on his face. Wordlessly, he retreated back to his room, slamming the door behind him.

Robert and Lily approached the others and hugged them. "I didn't know you guys cared that much about us," Lily said.

Maggie smiled at them, "It's no problem. We've been through a lot now, haven't we? If we didn't care for you by now, we'd be heartless."

* * *

><p>At dinner, when Hershel came down, there was an awkward air about the room. Instead of grabbing the food and going back to his room, he took his place at the head of the table and ate with everyone. The others tried to carry on despite the awkwardness. Finally, after about twenty minutes of small talk, trying to ignore the shady elephant in the room, Hershel cleared his throat and spoke up.<p>

"I just want to apologize to Robert, Lily, and Lyrik. And," he paused, "to everyone. I've been a 'sore jackass' to everyone, I understand. And I want to make up for that. I lost my wife, and I wasn't dealing with it well. I took it out on you people, and I drowned my sorrow in vodka. And I want to re-extend my invitation to you three. They're right, you know," he said, looking to his family who had yelled at him earlier, and then to Robert, Lily, and Lyrik. "You three are a tremendous help. And I appreciate everything you've all done to accommodate for the...mourning I went through."

He smiled at them for a few seconds, and after getting no response, he picked up his fork again, digging back into his food. Everyone laughed at the weird tension, and began talking as if there had never been any rifts in the group. They were beginning to feel like a family.


	5. Chapter 5: New

**Chapter 5 "New"**

**Day 11**

One beautiful, breezy day, the group decided to have an outdoor picnic. Patricia, Lyrik, Beth, and Maggie chipped in to make a nice feast. They brought out the foldable table and chairs and took them outside to watch the sunset and have a family dinner. They stayed there and chatted for a very long time.

Soon, it was getting quite dark and the group decided to start cleaning up. As they were beginning to carry in the food, a car turned the corner to the farm about half a mile out. Stunned, no one moved for at least a minute.

Snapping into action, Beth, Jimmy, Patricia, and Lyrik realized that it was people. Actual, real people. They had not heard anything from outside of town and had been too preoccupied to try leaving the farm. There were no televisions on the farm and radio signals were no use this far out during most hours of the day, but they did hear occasional reports on the radio that things were getting worse around the Atlanta area.

The foursome ran to the side of the road, waving their arms, flashing their flashlights at the car, trying to get the attention of those within it.

The car slowed down, noticing the four. It pulled in right next to them, and the person driving it was a very buff man with half-blonde, half-black hair, and a moderately long black beard. "Well, howdy, there," he said, seeming to mock the group's farm clothes. "The name's Seth. What's yours?"

The girls were obviously stunned by him as they all failed to find words. Jimmy spoke up for them. As Jimmy introduced them, Seth's eyes went to the crowd standing in the field, finally taking notice of them. He realized that this farm was their home, and that they were a big group. He smiled and turned back to Jimmy just as he finished.

"I'm sorry, son, you'll have to say that again. I got distracted. Mind if I get out and you introduce us to all of them, too?"

"Uh, sure, I guess so," Jimmy replied dumbly.

Seth pulled in and parked the car on the far side of the barn, out of sight from most of the road. He got out, followed by four white women and a black man. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention all of my friends here." He pointed to the black man who was now standing next to him. "This here's Lee. He's my good buddy. He helped me out of my apartment building when this all started." He pointed to a woman with short, black hair who seemed very shy, and said that her name is Jessie.

A young brunette girl, no older than sixteen, introduced herself as Allison. She had very large, Harry Potter-like glasses. A very scrawny woman with bleached blonde hair raised her hand and said that she was named Amanda. She very obviously does — or did — drugs judging by her appearance, her face sunken in and damaged. Seth pointed to the final girl, a blonde, middle-aged woman who had obviously been crying. "Excuse her, I'm sorry. She just lost her son."

Jessie looked to the ground, upset at Seth's words. "I guess I did, too," she said, obviously having history with Seth.

"You don't know that, Jessie," Seth retorted. "Sorry Erin," he flashed a hand to the sobbing blonde, "but we actually saw her son die, Jessie. Yours was lost when we tried to escape the refugee center. He could be with other survivors." The two glared at each other for a few moments, which seemed very suspicious to Robert and Hershel. "Anyways, sorry," Seth said, realizing how awkward things had just gotten. "You were saying, your names?"

Jimmy was stumbling over the names, so Hershel took over for him, introducing himself, his family, Robert's group, Otis, Patricia, and Jimmy. "So, what do you want?" Hershel inquired.

"Well, I don't know," Seth began. "What do most survivors want? Food, home, friends. You all are the ones that flagged us down, by the way," he chuckled. "We have supplies in our vehicle, and we can combine inventories. We could team up. It's a rough world out there. You all probably don't know how bad it is, do you?" Most people shook their heads, not knowing much more than second-hand stories over the radio. "People dying everywhere out there. Y'all got it good here? We can help you all out. Do you need guns? We have plenty! So what do you say?" Seth smiled widely and looked between everyone at the farm. "Can we be a part of your group?"

Everyone looked to Hershel, seeing him as their unofficial leader. He looked between everyone, with a general consensus that it was a good idea. After a long period of silence as he contemplated the decision, he looked into Seth's eyes and said, "Alright. You can join us. But remember two things: if you try to hurt one of us, you're all dead. These people are my family, and if you hurt them, you'll regret it. Second, if you live here, you will be expected to help out, at least a bit. Help keep the house clean, do chores, help out with animals, the lands, and anyone who needs help."

Seth nodded his head and looked to his people. They all nodded at him and he smiled back to Hershel. "So we're in?" he asked for clarification. Hershel nodded his head again. A wave of happiness washed across Seth's face.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, Patricia and Lyrik made up the only bedroom left, and Hershel told them that they could either pile into it or sleep in the living room. Lily told them that their friend died in the room they were trying to move into and Erin and Jessie freaked out. Seth rolled his eyes when he thought no one was looking, though Robert and Lily caught it, and he told them they would sleep in the living room. Shawn and Arnold helped them move a couple of mattresses downstairs, grumbling the whole way down. Seth, Jessie, and Erin slept on couches while Lee, Allison, and Amanda slept on beds on the floor.<p>

Robert was sitting in his room, listening to the quiet of the house. He was expecting the newcomers to be dangerous. Lily and Lyrik told him he should stop being so paranoid and just go to bed, but he couldn't help but worry. "Robert," Lily had told him, "they gave us weapons. They wouldn't do that if they planned to kill us." Though she had a point, Robert couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness. After about thirty minutes of just staring out of the window, listening, he began to drift to sleep, against his better judgement.

Downstairs, the new group was trying to get some much-needed rest. Seth was obviously upset about having to sleep on a couch when he could have been upstairs in a bed. He felt that Jessie and Erin were way too sensitive. _They're not the only ones who lost people they love and care for, _he thought to himself. _What gives them the right to be so whiney? I lost my dad, fiancé, and daughter, and I'm fuckin' fine._

He attempted to sleep, but ended up tossing and turning for a few hours before finally falling asleep in the strange new environment. In most of his dreams, all he could think about was fighting. Visions of a car, stealing supplies, and running from dangerous people ran through his head.


	6. Chapter 6: Followed

**Chapter 6 "Followed"**

**Day 15**

Since the new group of six has arrived at the farm, they have actually improved the whole group's survival rate. Occasionally, a stray walker or two may come out of the woods. To take care of the issue of walking outside and being met with an undead monster approaching, Seth suggested they have a lookout at all times and that they could take shifts. They even assist the majority group in all of the jobs, and the farm has grown and is back on track for a successful harvest.

They had enough guns to get every Greene family member armed, as well as Robert, Lily, Otis, and Jimmy. The two days after they arrived, they took the group into town to the local firing range and taught them quite a bit about shooting and aiming, as well as quickly reloading. Seth and Lee impressed everyone as they dispatched of walkers in town with ease and seemed very confident in surviving this new world.

Everyone in the group has begun to warm up to the new group. They have been very nice, and none of them have seemed too threatening to them. The only one who seemed suspicious in any way was Seth, who seemed to be hiding a lot of things. Everyone else was either a sad mother or an average citizen, and thus didn't much cause any suspicion.

Generally, however, they seemed to be quite paranoid, or on the lookout for something. It seemed quite off to the original group. They were constantly volunteering for lookout duty, or staring outside windows to the road. Hershel, Patricia, and Arnold, having already grown much closer to them than some of the more suspicious, said that they were probably just working extra hard to show that they can pull their weight and make sure they were all safe. That they are proving they are worth keeping around, especially because they must have seen and experienced awful things. Finally, they were beginning to ease up, and they decided to let Arnold have night shift as lookout so that they could all finally get some much-needed rest.

* * *

><p>Arnold got onto watch duty just around sundown, right after dinner. He went upstairs and climbed onto the roof through Hershel's window to take his position for the night. He brought up his favorite magazine for when it gets too quiet, and a fresh cup of coffee for just in case.<p>

Hours and hours passed, way past midnight, and the only thing he saw was a stray walker crossing from one side of the field to the other, being swallowed back into the forest.

About an hour before sunrise, Arnold was getting very tired. He went inside for a quick refill of coffee. He climbed in through Hershel's window, being careful not to wake the man. The overweight man eased his way downstairs, passing by everyone's bedroom doors. When he got downstairs, he was careful to step lightly, so as to not wake up Seth's group. In the kitchen, he found he had drank nearly all of the coffee in the empty pot, aside from a thin layer of coffee in the bottom. He poured what little he could into his cup and started up a new pot. Paranoid, and knowing it would take about twenty minutes for the coffee to make, he quietly shuffled back upstairs and out the window to return to his post.

He sat back on the roof and sipped at what little coffee he had. By his third sip, it was gone, and he groaned to himself, putting his head in his hands. Then, he heard a low rumble that took him off guard. He lifted his head from his hands. It was a shaky, vibrating sound, and it felt like a small earthquake. He almost brushed it off as an actual earthquake before he noticed movement up the road. There, a massive truck was driving up, followed by a small car with long paint scratches on one side. From the dimness, the truck looked like a rolling, demonic porcupine, with spikes and chains dressing it, poles sticking out of many sides of it it, and most of the vehicle covered in blood. Their headlights were turned off, and they were moving quite slowly. Clearly, the drivers were trying not to be noticed. _They're either looking for something, _Arnold thought to himself, _or they know we're here and want something from us. God, I hope they just want directions._

Arnold readied his gun, pointing it into the windshield of the blood-splattered truck. Looking through the sniper, he saw a large, dark man, who appeared to be either Hispanic or simply very tanned. He had muscles ripping at the seams and the beginnings of a handlebar mustache. In the passenger seat was a smaller, though still quite fit, white man with a buzzcut. He had an angry sneer on him, and a blade of wheat between his teeth. Arnold sighed in concern. _Maybe sugar?_

As the vehicles neared the house, Arnold pressed against the side of the roof, right next to Hershel's window, attempting to blend in. He kept his sniper up and watched the people in the vehicles as they studied the house. They were looking at the grounds around the farm, eyeing up vehicles and things outside such as tables and occasionally trying to see through windows. They were nearly out of sight and surrounded by the trees again, on the exit of the road off of the farm, when the small car stopped. The truck soon took notice and stopped, as well. A flashlight turned on in the car, illuminating the people within and revealing three people in the back. The light first was directed to the back window of the truck to get their attention before the beam turned and shone in a direction Arnold couldn't see. He scooted closer to the edge of the house as the roof creaked below him, and saw that the beam was on the vehicle Seth's group arrived in.

After a few moments of the flashlight's beam scanning the car, presumably making sure it was the right one, the light turned off and the vehicles began moving, quicker this time. Arnold felt a rush of relief. _They were mistaken. This isn't the car they're looking for._ He lowered his gun and began to smile. Then, the truck made a sharp u-turn, the car following. Their headlights blazed to life, blinding Arnold instantly. He fumbled, attempting to raise his gun, but struggling to find the right parts of it in the bright light.

The two vehicless drove up into the yard and parked right below the part of the house Arnold was pressed up against. Arnold's eyes finally adjusted to the light and he squinted, his gun up and finger on the trigger. The strangers climbed out of the cars and stood right in front of them, becoming no more than silhouettes standing in the headlights. There was about ten of them. The big, strong one lifted his gun, using his sniper in the same manner Arnold was. As he was about to fire, he realized that this man was unfamiliar. He lowered his gun back down. "Who are you?" called the stranger.

"A-Arnold," the farm hand squeaked in horror. The other silhouettes around him raised their guns in unison. Arnold considered lowering his, but was too afraid to move. "A-" he paused, "Arnold Greene."

The leader nodded his head in response. "Well, Arnold, have you seen any people around recently? A group of four? Maybe a bit more?" Arnold was quivering, instantly thinking of Seth's group and his head filled with anger and fright. What did they do? The large man in the headlights continued, "Their leader's a pretty built guy, dual-colored hair. Should be traveling with a black guy and two weak girls. Unless they died by now. Ringing any bells, Arno'?"

Arnold was having trouble breathing and thinking at the same time as he stood vulnerably on a roof, lit up and surrounded by dangerous strangers. What should he say? What happened? Were the people in Seth's group bad people? Murderers? Thieves? Arnold realized the gravity of the situation, nine guns pointed at him, ready to fire, and snapped back into it. With immediate regret, he said "Yes."

"Just as I thought. Well, Arny-boy, I'm going to need you to let me in. Immediately. They are inside, yes?"

Beginning to panic, Arnold told them to wait while he got his leader. The silhouetted stranger turned to the person right next to him and they whispered to themselves. They agreed to let Arnold go in, but if he took longer than one minute the farm house would become Swiss cheese.

Quickly, Arnold got to his feet, shoved the window open, and could be heard from where the strangers were standing, shouting incoherently.

Hershel, rudely awakened, quickly slipped on pants and a jacket and grabbed his pre-loaded shotgun. He slipped on his shoes as Arnold slipped back out the window to buy more time. Hershel made his way out of his room and woke up Otis and Patricia, and told them to get everybody up and ready to fight immediately. He made his way downstairs and woke up Seth and Jessie, before he heard the leader outside yell, obviously getting annoyed at Arnold. Hershel quickly went out of the door.

"I'm here, I'm here. I'm old, damn it," Hershel said, trying to cover for his slowness.

Upstairs, Otis and Patricia were waking everyone up. They grabbed their guns, and some of them shoved their most prized possessions into their pockets or grabbed bags they had packed in case they needed to make a quick escape. They all readied their guns, making sure they were loaded and ready to go, and positioned themselves in windows or in safer areas to wait out the gunfire or to provide a safe area in case someone got injured and needed medical attention as soon as possible.

Downstairs, Seth panicked. He knew what was going on. If he or one of his people were on lookout duty, they would have seen the truck coming and could have done something. They could have hidden the car more, drove it out of there, or even killed the dangerous group on sight. Anything would have been better than this. Better than ruining their chances at the group ever trusting them again. Better than having this safe, beautiful farm possibly being destroyed. Certainly better than having these good, trustable, amazing people die for something that was in no way their fault. He gathered his group, armed them, and they positioned themselves in the windows, ready to fight for this place.

"So you're the leader?" the silhouetted stranger asked Hershel. "You seem to be quite...elderly for a leader."

"Doesn't mean I can't keep people safe. And I can damn sure keep 'em in line," Hershel said, his eyes hardening.

"Well, whatever man. I don't care about you or Augustus Gloop up there on your roof. I'm here to...get my friends. Seth, I believe one goes by." Though it could barely be seen, it was obvious the man was smiling at what he had just said.

The conversation lasted for as long as Hershel could manage, but it eventually went out of control when it became apparent to the strangers that Hershel was trying to buy time. Arnold had sneaked back to the window, with one leg in and one leg out, his gun still up and ready to fire. Trying to be subtle, Hershel took a step back, and the door behind him was quietly opened slightly, so that Hershel could push past it and get inside if things got dirty. The leader took notice, however, and he raised his gun. He had lost his patience and knew what was about to happen. "I'm sick of this shit," he said and quickly fired at Hershel, the bullet flying just barely past his head, chopping off a few white hairs. Hershel quickly turned and ran inside, throwing the door open and slamming it shut behind him as his heart raced. Bullets began firing from the windows of the house at the strangers, who were nearly all taken out right then, blindsided by the amount of people ready and shooting from the farm house.

One of the gunners who had ducked behind the truck managed to hit Arnold in the arm as he quickly tumbled inside and fell flat onto his face, which made a loud thud throughout the house. He scrambled to his feet through the pain and ran out of Hershel's room to Patricia and Lyrik, who were crouching in the hall as they tried to gather their belongings and ready some first aid kits. "Patch me up, quick," he begged them, knowing he had to take care of his wound, but also had to help defend the farm.

The gunfire flew rapidly, bullets exchanged between the two groups. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Allison was shot right between the eyes, falling lifelessly to the ground. Jessie and Erin ducked down, panicking.

"Get back up and fight for this fucking farm, goddamn it!" Seth screamed at them, filling with rage that they could just give up so easily. Jessie cautiously but quickly raised back up to the window and resumed firing. Erin, however, stayed down, frozen with fear.

Upstairs, Otis, Shawn, Beth, Jimmy, Robert, Lily, and Maggie were in a row, firing at the opposing group. Shawn downed a woman, shooting her right in the heart. Beth got a headshot and smiled, pleased with herself, but kept the firing going. Jimmy looked to her and they smiled at one another before Beth went back to shooting. Jimmy opened his mouth to congratulate her, but a bullet went right through the side of his open mouth and he fell to the floor, lifeless. Beth wailed and dropped her gun. She was quickly on her knees over him, her hands over the hole in the side of his mouth as she confusedly attempted to save him.

"Patricia! Jimmy needs your help, now!" Patricia and Lyrik rushed in crouching and keeping their heads low before the three dragged Jimmy into the hallway to assist him. As soon as they lowered him back onto the ground in the hallway and the got a good look at his injury, Patricia gasped and covered her mouth. The bullet had passed through Jimmy's cheek and into his neck. He had passed out and was barely breathing, so it did not seem as if it had hit his brain, but there was no way to tell where the bullet hit in that moment. If they had proper medical equipment, there was a chance that he could be saved. But they did not, and there was no way to get them in time during this chaos. Patricia looked up to Beth and grimly shook her head no.

Outside, the mysterious leader grew angry from ducking behind cars, having to deal with two warring groups that could barely aim. "Everyone in the farm should be dead by now," he angrily said to his friend.

The leader had killed someone on the ground floor and one of his women nailed someone upstairs, but she had been taken down pretty much right after. He had lost seven of his people out here, way over half of his group. He turned to his right-hand man and nodded his head. The man with the buzzcut grabbed a bottle of liquor and ripped off a shred of fabric they kept around for just this. He put it in the mouth of the bottle and turned to the leader who was ready with a lighter. The fabric was lit and the leader threw it quickly to the house. It burst, setting the porch ablaze.

"Fuck!" Seth yelled as the flames erupted outside and he pushed Jessie and Hershel from the windows. He pointed at the stairs, but remained where he was, still firing at the dangerous strangers. "We have to go now. You two go get everyone and get ready to run!"

Before long, Hershel, Maggie, Shawn, Jessie, Robert, Lyrik, Lily, Arnold, and Otis came running downstairs with packs loaded and they ran out the back door into the two trucks they had, Hershel and Shawn driving either.

Inside, Patricia was screaming at Beth, crying for her to pull herself together and get into action. Finally, Patricia drew back and slapped the teenager, and she stared at Patricia, stunned. Patricia took the opportunity to get her to her knees and to get their their things so they could flee.

Downstairs, Seth's group was split. Lee had made it outside in the back of the one of the trucks. Seth, Erin, and Amanda were inside, still. Erin was still on her knees, kneeling with her face on the ground, weeping into the floor, Allison's undead body lying in front of her. Amanda was yelling, watching the flames grow closer, inching in through the windows. "Erin, goddamn it, we have to leave now, or we will die! Don't you get that?"

Seth was kneeling over them, out of aim from windows. Even though the bullets had now ceased, he was taking no chances. "Look, either this place is going to fall on us, or we're gonna leave her here. She's not moving any time soon. We have to go _now!"_

Amanda looked at Seth, horrified. "How could you say that? That we'd just leave her here." Amanda pulled on Erin, but she screamed, an ugly, roaring scream of deep anguish.

"Do you not see her? She was a mess before we ever got here. Seeing more people die was only ever going to set her off the edge. If she didn't break down now, she would have done it later. If we leave now, we won't have to deal with her in the future, doing this again. She could get us all killed if that happens."

Behind him Beth and Patricia ran through the back door, and Patricia yelled to them, "Come on, we need to leave right now!"

Seth looked over his shoulder, then turned back to Amanda. Amanda stared at Erin, contemplating. An ember fell beside her, and she finally took notice of how far the flames had gotten, eating at the house. She looked back to Erin, and tears began falling. "I'm sorry," she said to her dear friend. Seth grabbed Amanda by the arms and dragged her out. Loud bumps could be heard coming from upstairs, but there was no time to check what it was. Amanda began to regret her decision immediately, and tried fighting back once they got out of the back door.

Two dead bodies lie between the trucks and the house. They were two of the strangers, who had come around to make sure there were no survivors, but Lee and Hershel had killed them.

Seth fought Amanda toward the trucks until she eventually gave up after hearing a large crash, knowing the front of the house had collapsed. Hershel quickly drove off, his truck full of people and unable to sit around any longer. Seth and Amanda climbed into the back of Shawn's truck.

As the truck was taking off, two walkers made their way from around the house and a singed one came from inside. Amanda hit the back window and screamed at Shawn to stop, thinking the figure was Erin. "Erin, hurry up!" Amanda called desperately as she tried to climb out. Seth held her back, though, pointing out that the figure made no response and was walking very slowly. They soon realized it was on fire when they thought the fire was simply from the flames of the house. It was undead Jimmy, but no one knew that it was him. They assumed that it was one of the mystery group or a random walker that had got in somehow. The truck kicked back to life and chased after Hershel's.


	7. Chapter 7: What Just Happened?

**Chapter 7 "What Just Happened?"**

**Day 16**

Hershel led the pack, overwhelmed with sadness. He did his best not to let it get to him, and definitely not to let it show. Right now they needed to focus on escaping and keeping calm, but the severity of the situation was not easy to ignore. They had just lost the farm, most of their supplies, and the lives of three people in their group.

Now they were on the run, driving northwest. The sun rose above them like a flag, symbolizing the new start they have been forced to make. They drove all day, passing through towns and cities, trying to make as much distance as possible between themselves and the farm. After having passed a fourth town, the people in the leading red truck felt they were safe enough and Hershel signalled to Shawn that they were turning off onto a side road.

Hershel pulled over the red truck and everyone got out of the seats or climbed out from the bed. Soon, the blue truck drove up and did the same.

As Hershel got out, he began, "So, where should we-" but was cut off by Shawn, who had been holding in his rage this whole time, letting it boil deep inside like a kettle ready to blow.

"What the fuck was that about?" He screamed, huffing and puffing over Seth. He turned to Lee and pointed, "Do you know anything about this shit?"

Everyone originally from Seth's group lowered their heads. "Yeah, we know what that was about," Lee spoke up. Seth looked him in the eyes, and they shared a knowing look.

"Those people," Seth paused, trying to find the right words. "Those people were actually the innocent ones. Well, not after that. But originally, we were the ones at fault. And we didn't know they would find us. We were hoping that they lost us. And on behalf of everyone, I'm sorry."

Shawn was angrier still. He waited, but Seth said nothing more, holding a guilty look on his face. "Are you gonna fucking tell me what the hell happened, or do I have to shoot all'a you one by one? Leave you all here? I fuckin' will!" He reached for his holster, about to grab his gun, but Hershel grabbed his arm and glared at his step-son.

Seth sighed, scratched at his beard, and looked down. "We stole from them. We didn't know we were stealing from them, though. We should have, but we foolishly thought that it was out for the taking. There was food, medicine, guns. Lots of stuff that we needed. And it wasn't everyone in my group's fault, either. Amanda and Erin, they weren't with us at the time."

Shawn spat. "I don't believe you. How the hell did he know your car? Your name, Seth?"

Seth's face remained the same, unfazed. "Well, their leader saw us drive away with the stuff, which made us realize what we had taken just then was stolen. And I imagine he heard Allison or Jessie say my name when we left." Seth lowered his head, and spoke with sincerity, "I'm truly sorry. Especially to you, Beth. I'm very sorry that you lost your boyfriend. But, you guys, you aren't the only ones who lost something last night. We lost two of our friends, Erin and Allison."

Beth looked down to the ground. "It's okay," she said. "I forgive you." She looked up to him, wiping away a tear. "But it's not really my place to forgive you. It was Jimmy's life. Not mine."

Seth lifted an eyebrow, not expecting that kind of response from her. He nodded to her. Shawn looked to his sister, slightly shocked. Since Beth and Hershel let it go, he decided he should try to as well. He sighed, scratched his head, and leaned against a car, resisting the urge to keep the fight going.

Hershel looked between them and decided they were done arguing. "Well," he began, "as I was tryin' to say. Our priority right now is finding a place to stay, and soon. We're nearly runnin' on fumes, and I don't know about y'all, but I'm exhausted. Finding more vehicles couldn't hurt. It'd get people out of the cold, open back of a truck. Anyone got any suggestions?"

There was a long pause as the group thought or looked around. Down the highway, Maggie spotted a sign. "Welcome to Palmetto," it read.

"Daddy, look. We're outside of Palmetto. We could go check on Fern."

"Fern?" Hershel questioned. It took him a second, but then the memory came back to him. "Fern, that girl who moved away a few years back? Maggie, I'm not sure that's a great idea. When was the last time you talked to her? And," he hesitated, looking to the ground, "there's a real good chance she's gone."

Maggie shook her head. "I know, Daddy. But if she's gone, her house could still be a great place to stay. Her parents kept it real nice. A farmhouse surrounded by forest, even has a little pond outside of it."

Hershel slowly nodded his head. "Alright. You lead the way," he said, and gestured for her to drive his truck there.

* * *

><p>They made it to Fern's house about twenty minutes after. Maggie had to constantly turn around, trying to recall the way to her friend's home. She turned down another one of the many dirt roads on the main road, beginning to feel stupid, when the large pond materialized on the right side of her, the water shining blindingly into the trucks. They made their way up the road and were met with a few walkers roaming around the house.<p>

The walkers quickly took notice of them and began trudging their way toward the trucks. Maggie grabbed her gun and got out, taking down two walkers as Shawn took out the third one. Maggie approached their dead bodies and sighed, slightly saddened. She recognized one to be Fern's father, Fernando. He had a large chunk of his neck missing, obviously eaten by walkers. The other two walkers appeared to be strays, or possibly other survivors that were with him when he died.

Hershel stood over her and put his hand on his daughter's shoulder. She turned to him, her expression unbothered. "It's alright, Daddy. She wasn't my best friend or anything. I'll be fine, so long as the house is."

As they began walking into the house, Lily gave Robert a worried look. They both had their guns ready, but Lily seemed to be afraid of what could lie inside. If it was something awful, Maggie could be very upset by what she finds. If it's anything too gruesome, they may just have to move on and find another place, which could be dangerous.

Shawn entered the house first, his gun at the ready. In the living room stood five walkers, meandering around aimlessly. Maggie, Robert, and Otis followed in directly after. Maggie noticed that the walker farthest from them was Fern. She frowned and lowered her gun slightly. Gunfire went off around her and all five were quickly put down. She looked to the ground and turned around. "All clear," she said, signalling for everyone to come in and unpack.

Otis, Shawn, and Robert went upstairs, checking the rest of the house for more walkers and supplies. Maggie decided to walk the perimeters and act as lookout to distract herself.

Everyone moved in, carrying their stuff inside as much as they could at a time. Beth and Patricia were the first ones in, carrying the medical supplies and some sleeping bags. Immediately upon entering, they were smacked in the face with the vile odor of rotting corpses. Beth dropped the box of medical supplies, doubling over in disgust, puke threatening harshly to make its escape. Patricia helped her out, wrapping her arm around Beth's shoulders and guiding her outside. "Don't go in there," she said to everyone coming in. "They put down some walkers and the smell's liable to kill you."

Hershel turned to Arnold and Seth and nodded his head. "Alright," he said. "You two, come on, let's go get those stinkers outta there."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Seth said.

"Yeah," Arnold so helpfully chimed in.

"Those things could make us puke everywhere, and it would be a lot worse," Seth said. "We might catch something."

"Well, unless you want to wait on them up there to come back down to do it, leavin' us all just standing out in the open, then yeah, I'm sure," Hershel retorted. "We can wear masks, it'll be fine."

The three entered holding their breath and grabbed the medical box Beth had dropped. They quickly tried to get masks out of it before the scent hit them. Arnold couldn't hold it, and the smell attacked his nostrils. He ran outside immediately, desperately holding his hand over his mouth. As he ran out, everyone outside scattered away, avoiding him at all costs. He made it to the edge of the woods and hurled onto the trunk of a tree.

After Arnold was done, he headed back to the house and was met by Hershel, wearing gloves and a mask, holding out the same for Arnold to put on. He dumbly looked at Hershel, giving him a look that said, "I hate you for still making me do this."

By the time they made it to the third body, the three upstairs had finished scanning the house, finding no more walkers, but a few guns and bullets that Fern's father used to own. Robert, Otis, and Shawn then helped out in disposing of the walker bodies, also affected by the smell. Soon, the bodies had been dragged out and put in an open area near the lake to be burned later, another great idea from Seth.

Everyone carried on moving in and setting up shop. Things seemed to be good here, to Hershel, Beth, Otis, and Patricia. They loved it here, and thought the group could live here indefinitely. Robert, Arnold, Maggie, Lily, Seth, and Lee, however, felt that we should keep moving for a while and not get too comfortable. Seth made his case on why they should stay, stating how "They found us in Senoia, all the way from northern Atlanta. If we want to escape them, if they're not all dead, we need to keep moving, because they will find us. It's clear now that those crazy fucks have a bloodlust."

The discussion carried on for quite a while, until Hershel ruled a compromise. "I suppose you could be right about them following us. But we can't keep driving around like this. We need to take time to get our strength back, and to find more supplies, better vehicles. And there's only, what, three of them left? We managed to take out a lot of them. I don't think the last few are much of a threat." Most people nodded their heads or somewhat agreed, but Seth and Lee stood firm on their stance. "How about this?" Hershel suggested. "We stay here for three days. Then we decide what to do from there. If anyone feels too uneasy, or we find signs that we've been followed, we leave immediately." Begrudgingly, everyone agreed to the compromise.

That night, Maggie stayed up as lookout, almost terrified of sleeping in that house after seeing Fern like that. Her old friend looked terrible, like she had been tortured for days before she died. Her jaw was missing completely and she was missing her left hand. Fern's mother was in the room with her, too, and she looked just as bad. Maggie finally realized how bad things must be out here, and she suddenly felt very scared for the future. Everyone would die, and it would be painful. She would die, her father would die, her siblings, Otis, Patricia, Robert, Seth. Everyone.


	8. Chapter 8: Let's Go

**Chapter 8 "Let's Go"**

**Day 19**

Over the past three days, the group had scavenged in Palmetto as much as they could and found many useful things. Gas in cars, lighters, matches, canned foods, seeds for growing, and clothes. Everyone got at least one extra set of clothing, and they found three working vehicles: two cars and a van. They decided to siphon all of the gas out of the trucks and put it into the van and the car with the most space in it.

Now, it was morning. The sun was slowly beginning to rise over the sunset. It was peaceful, aside from a few walkers every few hours. Today was the day the group would vote on whether or not they stay where they are or move on. Arnold was on lookout duty once more.

Though an awful thing happened the last time he was on lookout, he quite enjoyed this job. It was quiet, tranquil. He sighed before rubbing the bullet wound on his arm, now almost totally healed. A few days before, Hershel had managed to get the bullet out, which was luckily not very deep in and proved to be an easy job.

What he like most about looking duty was that it gave him time to himself away from everyone else to think. Today was a very big day to be thinking, as well. Certain members of the group have entrusted him to get them out of this house, and he was not entirely certain whether or not to go along with it. No matter how nice this place looked, he would not dare to put his friends and family in danger.

Robert, Maggie, and Seth came up with the idea. Arnold would be on lookout duty on the night before the final day, so when it came time to discuss leaving, Arnold would have news for them. He would lie and say that in the night he saw headlights through the trees run down a neighboring road, and that they were driving quite slowly, as if they were looking for someone, just like they had on the night of the attack. He would then say that he awoke Robert and Maggie to be on standby in case things went South, and then they would lie, as well, and say that they witnessed the vehicles, too.

Thinking about it, however, Arnold was very unsure. If they kept moving, they might never find a good place to stay. Even if they do, that could be a long time from now. Being out on the road seemed much more dangerous than running from a group of people that may have just perished in the fire of Hershel's farm. Sending the group on the road again could be a death sentence. Staying here could be a death sentence as well, but quite likely not any time soon. This could be a haven, he thought.

Soon, after spending his time pondering, conflicted as he stared out at the lake, the sun was quite high up, and he didn't realize it until Otis found him and told him to come downstairs. It was time for the group to vote on staying or going.

He made his way downstairs, still weighing the possibilities. In the livingroom, Hershel was standing in front of a coffee table while everyone around him sat in the chairs and couches surrounding it. Arnold took a seat right next to Maggie, ready to speak when Hershel first asked for any information.

"Alright, so now everyone's here. So, it's been three days since we moved in. It's time to vote on whether we stay here or move on. First, we need to know if anyone's seen anything strange." Maggie, Robert, and Seth subtly looked to Arnold. He looked back at them, and decided, This is the right thing to do.

"I did," Arnold spoke up. "Last night, on lookout, I heard what sounded like cars." Patricia covered her mouth, shocked and afraid. "And on the other side of the trees, at the neighboring house, I saw headlights. I got worried, and I woke up Robert and Maggie to help out in case something happened. The sun was startin' to rise, though, so I guess they got scared of being seen. Took off."

Hershel's face showed what looked like serious fear, and it shocked Arnold greatly. He turned to Robert and Maggie. "Is this true?" he asked. Maggie nodded her head as Robert frowned seriously at Hershel, also a bit shocked to see quite a reaction. "Well, why the hell did nobody tell me sooner?" Hershel asked, sounding suddenly angry.

"Daddy, nothing happened," Maggie told him. "If the car turned this way, we would have went and got you." She realized her argument didn't exactly make the point that they were in danger, though, and quickly added, "But this is bad. If they had turned down this road, we could'a been dead. I think we need to leave." Jessie and Lyrik, who had remained neutral, nodded their heads worriedly to Hershel, seconding Maggie's suggestion to leave.

Hershel nodded solemnly, looking upset as well. "Alright, well...I think this changes things. I think it's time to vote. All who vote we should leave, raise your hand." Maggie, Arnold, Robert, Lily, Lyrik, Seth, Jessie, and Lee raised their hands. Lastly, Hershel hesitantly raised his hand as well. "All opposed," he said, and Patricia, Otis, Beth, Shawn, and Amanda raised their hands.

He lowered his head and felt like he may regret his next words. "Overruled. We leave immediately. Everyone, pack up your stuff and we'll leave before noon."

Everyone got up from their seats, headed to their rooms, and got their belongings. Just on time, they left before noon and started on their long drive.


	9. Chapter 9: Temporary

**Chapter 9 "Temporary"**

**Day 20**

The group drove for hours in their new vehicles and eventually made it out of Georgia. They passed the Alabama state line and continued driving for hours. They passed things that they did not even expect to see. In this distance, they once saw what looked like almost fifty walkers, walking together as a unit. Some of the towns they passed through seemed okay, but others were awful. One town on the edge of the Georgia border had half of its buildings completely engulfed in fire.

That night, they set up camp off the road a ways outside of a town, with two people on lookout at any given time. They woke up the next morning and began driving once more after having a light breakfast of canned food and the last of their remaining vegetables from the farm.

Slowly they drove down the lonely roads, cluttered with debris. Crashed or broken vehicles littering the highway, with the occasional blood splatter here and there, walkers roaming all about.

Eventually, they made it into a town and spotted a house that seemed usable. All of their past houses had been farm houses basically in the middle of nowhere. This one was quite a large house sat in the center of a neighborhood. It seemed to be large enough to hold all of them, and they decided to stop and check it out. Arnold, Seth, Lee, and Shawn volunteered to check and clear out the house.

The entrance room was quite large and split off into two directions. To the left, the kitchen and living room were visible. Down the right, a long hallway with many doors could be seen. Seeing no immediate threats, they split up. Lee and Shawn went to the left, exploring the main rooms, while Arnold and Seth went to the right to check out the hallway, which presumably was the bedrooms.

Lee and Shawn made themselves busy with scrounging for supplies, checking out any unexpected doors — which either led outside or to a bathroom or closet — and making sure all windows and doors were secured.

Seth and Arnold decided to split the doors between themselves to save time. Seth took all the doors on the left-hand side of the hallway, while Arnold took all the doors on the right-hand side of the hallway. They agreed to not open any two doors at once, and to wait for the other person to open their door before they open their own.

Their first two rooms were perfectly fine, the only thing seeming off was the room Arnold opened smelling like rotten eggs and soured milk. The trend continued, with every door they opened seeming perfectly fine, though some things being slightly off, like a blood splatter here, or a cracked window there.

At the end of the hall, Seth had just opened his room and was currently inside of it, checking it out, signalling to Arnold that it was okay to open his door. He slowly cracked it open, nervous. As he entered the room it appeared to be, like the others, clear. Relieved, Arnold sat his gun down onto the bed and layed down on his back next to it. He sighed, finally able to rest, and this time on an actual bed! It had been almost a week since he had a bed of his own, and he wanted to enjoy what little time he had with it.

As he was beginning to doze off, he heard a scratching noise under the bed, but figured it was a bug or rat and continued focusing on his relaxation. In an instant, something grabbed onto his right ankle, and he felt an intense pain. A quite delayed reaction, he sat up and yelled in pain, doing his best to get his hands around his gun. Seth bolted into the room and noticed a small walker ripping into Arnold's ankle. Arnold had gotten his hands around his gun and pointed down, figuring he had gotten the aim right, but shot himself in the calf instead and yelled furiously in pain, throwing himself on his back again, writhing in pain. Seth gasped and lowered his gun. He looked around the room before ripping a loose slice of wood off of a dresser. He slammed it into the walker's head, blood spewing out of the hole made with the wood and a the monster's mouth, mixing into Arnold's blood.

By this time, Lee and Shawn had heard the commotion, and Lee had already left to go get the others. Shawn and Seth began working on cleaning Arnold's leg and getting the walker out of the way, but it was stuck to something under the bed. Seth went around the side of the bed and attempted to pull it out from under the bed and found that the walker's legs were tied to the bedposts. Seth used the same piece of wood he used to put down the walker to free it, and he dragged it out from under the bed. It was the body of a young boy, thin and small, no older than 10. Seth grimaced and looked to Shawn, who was pressing his hands against Arnold's legs, attempting to slow the bleeding. They shared worried looks about all of this and Seth began dragging the young walker out through the hall, out the back door so that no one in the group had to see it. Hershel, Maggie, and Patricia came through the doors of the house just as Seth made it through the back. Lee led them to Arnold and Shawn, and the older duo immediately began working on him, cleaning and disinfecting the wound and wrapping it up as best they could. After, Seth rejoined them.

"I'm sorry, Hershel. We should have been more careful. This is my fault," he said to Hershel, genuinely feeling very guilty.

"No, son," Hershel said to Seth, "this isn't anyone's fault. Neither of you could have known. He thought it was safe and it wasn't. If anything, it's Arnold's fault." He paused, and reconsidered his words. "I didn't mean that, I just...I'm sorry Arnold," he said, looking to Arnold's pained, barely conscious face. After checking other beds and blind spots in all of the bedrooms, Seth and Lee helped Arnold get properly into the bed. Hershel knew that no matter what he did for Arnold now, nothing could help him. Saying that aloud though would help no one, though. He cleared his throat sadly and got up to inform the people outside that it was clear to come in and get settled before warning them to be careful and not to disrupt Arnold.

* * *

><p>About an hour later, everyone had picked out sleeping arrangements for the seven bedrooms they had to share. The sun was beginning to set, and Arnold had woken up. All of the Greenes were surrounding him, hoping that these would not be the last moments they spent with him. After the initial relief and shock once they saw he was awake, they rushed to help him in any way, adjusting his pillows or kissing him in glee that he had awoken.<p>

Before long, though, Arnold brought the mood back down. He loved them, but he was scared and wanted answers. "I'm going to die, aren't I?" Arnold asked them. "Just like LaRissa...and Aunt Annette." Beth sadly looked to the ground and Maggie shook her head at him.

"No, Arnold," Maggie said. "We don't know that. We don't know how this works. We were able to disinfect your wound pretty quickly after it happened. You're going to be fine."

Though Maggie said it, just like Hershel, she knew she was wrong. That she was lying to Arnold. No one believed her, but they wanted to. God, did they want to.


	10. Chapter 10: Foodland & Goodnight

**Chapter 10 "Foodland & Goodnight"**

**Day 21**

It was the next morning and things with Arnold were still looking grim. He hadn't been able to move at all, not even to change his position on the bed, and people were losing hope. Not only were they losing hope, they were running low on supplies. They had used the last of their alcohol yesterday on Arnold, and they needed a lot more food and bandages. Exploring the blocks surrounding their new house, Shawn and Otis discovered that they were a few blocks east of a grocery store called Foodland.

Shawn and Otis told Hershel about it and he agreed with them that they should consider getting a group together and head out to get supplies. "How about," Otis proposed, "Shawn, Seth, Lee, and I go?"

Hershel half-frowned at him. "I'm not sure that's the best idea right now. Patricia needs you, and I don't think you should be goin' around, riskin' your life when we have a constant reminder here about how dangerous it is out there."

A flash of sadness swept across Otis's face, but he pushed it back and nodded his head compliantly. Shawn looked to Otis and considered sneaking him out, but decided against it for Patricia's sake. Otis was tough enough, but Hershel wasn't wrong. "I'll ask around for someone else to," Shawn told Hershel, who nodded in response.

Shawn went to find Seth and Lee, but they weren't in their room. He went down the hallway, about to check for them in Jessie and Amanda's room, but heard voices in the living room and followed them. There, everyone was gathered around in the living room, playing board games they had found in one of their rooms. Shawn sighed, slightly angry about having to ask everyone together. He entered the room and smiled to Beth, who was the first to notice him, but she only half-smiled in return.

"Everyone," he said, attempting to get their attention, "Otis and I found a supermarket down the road, and we need to get a group together to go and scavenge for supplies. Does anyone want to volunteer?"

Lee and Maggie raised their hands instantly, eager both to help out and to get out of the house and its gloomy atmosphere. Seth kept his head down, acting as though he was focused on the cards. Hesitantly, Robert put his hand up, as well. Lily noticed and decided, Why not? putting her hand up as well.

Shawn was obviously disappointed. Seth was upset for some reason and he felt that Maggie, Robert, and Lily weren't exactly the best people to bring along. Maggie because he was his sister, and Robert and Lily because they weren't really very strong members of the group. "Maggie, no," he said.

"Shawn," Maggie told him, glaring, "I don't care what you say, I'm going. I can handle myself and you know that."

Shawn shook his head, frustrated. "Robert, Lily, are you guys sure you should be going?"

Robert raised a brow at him, "What's your problem with me going?"

Shawn's eyes widened slightly, and he shook his hands rapidly. "No, no, it's nothing like that," he said, trying not to come off as offensive. "It's just, I'm not sure that you'd be a good idea to bring along, if I'm honest. Especially you, Lily."

Lily raised her own eyebrow, but with an actual fury brewing inside of her. "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm not sure you're fast or focused enough," he said after a brief, shocked pause. He bit back though with a flat, "Plain and simple. Sorry."

Lily looked back down at the board game, her face twisting in anger. Robert glanced at her, and looked to Shawn, giving him a look that said "you just fucked up."

Shawn ran his hand down his face and groaned loudly. "Fine, whatever. You four, get ready to go. Empty out a backpack for each of you, make sure your shoes are tied tight, get any weapons you feel you're capable with or may need, and be ready in ten minutes."

* * *

><p>Shawn was sitting at the wheel of the white car with Lee sitting right next to him in the passenger seat. "I don't know about this," he said to Lee.<p>

Lee shrugged in response, "Well, you never know. They might be useful. Even if not, it wouldn't hurt to get more people to be capable of this kind of stuff. We can't just rely on Seth, Arnold, you, me, and Otis. Especially with Otis's wife being so fragile and Arnold in the shape he is."

Soon, Maggie joined them, just on time. She sat right behind Shawn with her empty backpack in her lap. "Seth said we should try to find more knives," she said out of the blue. Shawn nodded to her in the rear-view mirror, and he looked to the house to see Robert quickly walking to the car, climbing into the seat behind Lee, doing the same as Maggie with his backpack.

"Where's Lily?" Shawn questioned.

"She's takin' a piss," Robert stated bluntly. Lee smiled to himself and Shawn nodded, an odd expression on his face.

"She couldn't have done that earlier?"

"Excuse her for having a bladder," Robert retorted, getting annoyed with Shawn.

Lily came from the front door of the house, zipping up her pants. She got in through the passenger side, pushing Robert into the middle.

They took off just as a walker approached who had noticed Lily enter the car. It scratched at the trunk of the car as it departed, blowing dust into the poor, undead creature's face.

From the house, Seth was watching through the window. He felt an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. I should have went, he thought to himself. But I have to prove myself. Prove that I can be useful, and not just get people killed. Too many people have died under my watch, and that's going to change. These people can finally look up to me, and Hershel will finally trust me. Seth didn't comprehend the amount of respect many people in the group had for him. He was the strongest person physically, and he has helped them survive and adapt tremendously. Without him they would have no defense and very little knowledge of many things about the way this new world works. Though he hasn't exactly proved to be great as a protector, he has been wonderful as a teacher and motivator.

They made it to the supermarket in only about five minutes and were met with a few walkers as they approached, which were quickly dispatched of within a few shots by Lee and Shawn. Lily attempted it, but missed horribly, instead shooting a stop sign, which made a loud clanging noise. Robert stared at the hole in the sign and remembered something Seth had told him about walkers being attracted to noise.

Before they entered the stores Shawn laid down a plan. They would go in, split into two groups, and explore as two units. Robert smiled to himself, "Well," he said, "I think there might be a change of plans."

Shawn lifted a brow at him. "What do you mean?"

"You'll see."

They entered together, Shawn first, then Lee, Robert, Maggie, and then Lily. Lee was about to separate the group, him taking Lily, while Shawn took Robert and Maggie, when Robert told them to stop. He lifted his gun and pointed it up to the metallic ceiling and pulled the trigger, taking everyone off guard, the sound sharp and shrill almost deafening. Then, a dozen walkers materialized from the aisles as Shawn realized Robert's plan, giving the teen a proud smile. "That's genius, dude," Shawn said, suddenly feeling better about bringing this group along.

Shawn and Lee dispatched of the nearest, most threatening walkers, and then they focused on trying to teach the other three to shoot. Maggie was quite the natural, taking down three walkers with ease. Robert got the reloading and shooting part down well, but his aim was quite off and it took him a few tries to put down two walkers. Lily, however, was just all around pretty bad with shooting and Lee and Shawn had to put her walkers down for her. The best she had managed was getting one in the neck, but that wasn't enough to take it down.

Slightly frustrated with herself, she holstered her gun and did her best to forget about it. Lee patted her shoulder kindly. "It's alright. You'll get better at it," he smiled to her. "It just takes practice. Besides, this place is safe now. You don't need it any more."

Lily looked at him, frustration blatant on her expression. "Good," she said. "I don't want to shoot ever again." She detached her gun holster off of her belt and handed it back to Lee, who frowned at her, but nodded understandingly.

Though Shawn wanted to insist that Lily keep the gun, Lee was right. This place was safe. So instead, he made a new plan. "Since this place is clear, we can all split up solo and get the place covered in half the time. The sooner we get out of here and get the supplies back to the group, the better.

They all departed, headed in opposite directions. Robert went for the household and medical supplies, Maggie searched the entrance and front counters for reading material and weapons, Lee headed for the foods section to find canned foods and not-yet-expired goods, Shawn went to the vegetables looking for seeds and fertilizer, and Lily went to the refrigerators and the back rooms for useful things employees might have left behind and the stockroom.

Robert's search proved to be moderately fruitful. He found no peroxide or alcohol, but there were plenty of pills (including aspirin, antidepressants, and ADHD medication) and bandages, as well as other things like toilet paper, plastic silverware, paper plates, shampoo, and deodorant.

Maggie found many things that she thought could be useful, such as magazines and small books for when things get boring, cigarettes, pocket knives, lighters, matches, batteries, a few flashlights, fabric hair ties, rubber bands, and candy.

Lee's search was not the greatest. He found many canned things, but he was hoping to find other things, such as mostly-fresh bread loaves, but it seemed like the day that this place was abandoned was probably the day before their stock would be replenished. There was very little food at all, and what was left was either spoiled, moldy, or hardened. He did manage to find a large amount of spices and enough canned and nonperishable foods to last out the rest of the week, though.

Shawn's search went about as well as one would expect. Going to the fruit and vegetable section, he was met with a whole lot of nothing and disgusting. Just like Lee had found, it seemed as though the food that expired quickest was looted early, and what was left was shriveled and rotten. He did find many seeds, though, which would make his father very happy.

Lily's exploration of the store was the most interesting, though. She was in the freezer section looking for things that could still be good, since the electricity was still on here. Looking through, there was still some good sodas and energy drinks, which she put into her bag, thinking they could be useful, and grinning devilishly at the energy drinks. After she put in the freshest drinks, she continued down the freezers, looking at the foods and their expiration dates, when she found something that caught her attention. Faygo. She smiled from ear to ear and shouted very loudly to the group: "Faygo! Guys, I just found some fucking Faygo!" In the toiletries section, Robert was smiling, shaking his head in her direction.

She grabbed a few bottles and put them in her bag, as well. She opened one for herself and began drinking it immediately, not wanting to miss out a second longer on getting her first taste in what felt like ages of her favorite soda. She continued down the aisle and grabbed some frozen meats and cheeses to add to the collection, as well.

When she got to the end of the aisle there was a fork, forcing her to choose to turn either left or right. To the right was Shawn, inspecting the vegetables and fruits. To the left was an almost-hidden door that lead into a back room. It wasn't much of a door, though. They were thick plastic strips hanging over a doorway, through which many boxes could faintly be seen. Drinking her Faygo happily, she went inside to the dim room. She looked around for a light and eventually found it by dragging her hands across the dark wall. In the now way-too-bright room a desk sat, with many boxes and sacks lying around it. On the far end of the room was another door.

She went for the desk and pulled out a drawer. Inside were many pens and paper, which she quickly bagged. In the drawer below was the same thing, and she nearly overlooked it before she thought to look under the paper. Below the paper was a brown leather holster with a white handle sticking out. She grabbed it and examined it, unsheathing the blade. It was a sharp machete with a riveted back side. It had the initials "W. E." engraved on the lower part of the hilt. She smiled thoughtfully and attached the holster to her pants pocket.

Feeling much stronger and safer, she went to the door at the end of the room and swung it open carelessly. The room was pitch black, and she repeated her last method of using what little light there was to search for a light, running her hands across the walls. Unbeknownst to her, something was attracted to the bright light she had just let into the room. When she made it back to the doorway, she sighed and turned around, peering into the darkness. Then, two women in blue shirts that read "FOODLAND" in bright red letters emerged, pale and stumbling. One had a huge hole in her neck, dried blood on her skin and clothes, and large parts of her hair clumped together nastily.

Panicking, Lily scrambled to get her new blade back out of its holster. She was afraid of using the machete with two of them in front of her, so close to one another, though. Unable to get it with her fidgety, panicked fingers, Lily cussed under her breath and turned to run away, but she tripped on her bag and her Faygo spilled out onto the floor in front of her, soaking her shirt. She yelled for help, and in an instant one of them fell on top of her and bit into her left shoulder. She wailed in agony and felt the weight of the other one plummet against her legs as it too began to eat, ripping into her right hip. In her pain she really wished she had not given her gun back.

Shawn came in first and was shocked to see Lily lying there on the ground, her blood pouring out of her body, mixing in with Faygo that was still dripping out of the bottle and onto the floor. He bit his lip and raised his gun just as Robert and Lee entered. He looked to Robert and lowered his gun, focusing on the younger boy's expression.

Going through Robert's head were many emotions. Loss of the best friend he's ever had. Agony for witnessing it. Guilt for making everyone let their guards down by drawing out walkers. Fear of the future without her. But most of all, an awful, heavy feeling of suffering for not being able to do anything to help her. On the floor, she was looking at them, her eyes begging as she was unable to yell, already looking lifeless. She blinked and attempted to speak, but was too weak and shocked to. Robert wiped at tears he didn't even realize were falling, and raised his gun. Maggie entered behind them. "What's going on?" she asked Shawn, who looked to her and shook his head at her as she looked past Lee and Robert's heads to see Lily, lying on the ground in a puddle of her own blood with two walkers eating away at her.

Robert killed the walkers with ease, taking both down with only three bullets. He approached Lily, who followed him with her eyes. She closed her eyes and clenched her lips, anticipating him to shoot her. Robert cringed and covered his mouth and nose, seeing her blood and guts pouring out of her body around her, and her looking so ready to die. The tears fell like they never had before and he raised his gun again. Robert was now blubbering as he struggled to see Lily through his tears. She, too, was crying. He closed his eyes and pulled the trigger, hitting her right in the forehead. Robert opened his eyes, making sure he got her, and he did. He fell to his knees and sobbed into her back, wailing like a small child. He looked at her forehead and saw the hole he had just made. "No," he whispered to himself. "Why?"

He was soon hit by the awful smell of the undead walkers by her, and he angrily pushed himself up to his knees, and began firing wildly into the walkers, hitting each one another five times each before Shawn grabbed him from behind and took the gun, shushing Robert and bringing him into a hug.

* * *

><p>They left about thirty minutes later after having a prompt funeral for Lily behind the supermarket. Her body was too gross and mangled for them to easily transport her back, especially since they only brought a car. Robert made sure not to forget Lily's bag and the machete she died with. He took the machete for himself and no one argued with him over it.<p>

They made it back to the house with five bags, four people, and tremendous mourning. Lyrik saw them as she was looking through the windows and held her hand over her mouth. As they made their way to the house, a handful of walkers approached and Shawn and Maggie took care of them as Lee and Robert carried the bags in.

After carelessly dropping the bags in the livingroom, Robert headed for his room, which he shared with Lyrik and Lily. He sighed as he entered and saw her bag full of clothes. In the living room, Lee explained to the group that walkers sneaked up on her and took her down before they could help. Lyrik began to cry as she listened to the story and she ran to her bedroom to talk to Robert.

When she entered, Robert was sitting in Lily's bed, holding the white-handled machete and one of Lily's shirts, crying onto them. Lyrik only cried harder as she made her way to him and wrapped her arms around him. He wiped a tear and looked at her. "Lily was ambushed," the boy said, "We were stupid. We split up, all five of us. We thought the whole place was safe, and that we'd all be okay on our own. But we weren't. She went into a back room, and she just...went down. There was two of them."

Robert was bawling once again, struggling to breathe and speak. Lyrik's tears were beginning to pour, as well. She loved Lily, and she had such great memories with Lily. But Lyrik was mostly concerned for Robert, because she knew how close the two were. Losing two of his best friends in such a short amount of time was tearing him apart, and she knew it. They both hated the idea of carrying on without her.

Back in the living room, Robert and Lyrik's crying could faintly be heard, and it really set the tone of the whole house. Seth couldn't help but feel guilty for Lily's death because he refused to go, all because he was afraid of getting more people killed. Maybe if he were there, he could have kept them on their toes. Maybe they would all still be alive. He was finally beginning to see, though, that no one is safe, whether it's his fault or not.

Seth went to Hershel and volunteered for lookout duty that night, who nodded solemnly in response, his mind more focused on Arnold's wellbeing. Hershel went in to check on him and found that he was still asleep again. He sat next to Arnold's bed in a chair they had brought in and opened up to Arnold, half-hoping he wasn't able to hear him. "Things are rough around here. I don't know what we're gonna do about it, either. People just keep on dyin', and I don't know what to do. Maybe I can help train them with theirs guns. Keep a better eye on 'em. I don't know. And now that you've...been bitten...I just… I just wish that everything could be easier. I don't know how we've all carried on so casually. Half of Seth's people are gone and he's hardly managing it. Robert's pretty much in the same position. Lost two of his best friends. People he's had around him for most of his life. We all lost Annette… And I'm afraid that I might die, soon. I'm old, and not exactly a bodybuilder like Seth. If I get cornered, that's it. And I don't know what everyone'll do if that happens."

Shocking Hershel, Arnold responded. "It'll be okay," he said weakly. "We have strong people here. I know I'm not long for this world, but-"

Hershel interjected, worriedly, "Arnold, you know I didn't mean-"

"Hershel. It's alright. I know I'm dyin'. What matters now is keeping everyone prepared and ready to deal with this. Keepin' everyone together and functioning. No matter who goes or what happens, y'all gotta stay strong. Don't give up." Arnold opened his eyes to look to reassure Hershel, and saw that his uncle was crying.

He lamely raised his hand and wiped a tear off Hershel's cheek, who jumped slightly at the sudden touch. "Go get someone strong to watch over me," Arnold said. "When I turn, I don't want no one to get hurt." Arnold looked into Hershel's eyes, serious as stone. A last thought, Arnold added, "Do it quietly." Hershel's eyes reflected greif. He nodded and rose to his feet, leaving his nephew alone.

Lee entered the room a few minutes later, assigned to watch and put down Arnold should the time come. It was awkward at first trying to talk to one another, as the two weren't that close, and Lee was there only to kill Arnold when he reanimated, but eventually, Arnold fell asleep, and the awkward small talk was finally over.

Though Lee managed to stick it out for longer, he was running on less sleep than most other people in the group. He had been constantly volunteering and then put on watch, only managing to get about two hours worth of sleep in the last two days. When it got quiet, and all he had to keep himself occupied was to watch Arnold get the sleep he himself so desperately desired, he could hardly stand to keep his eyes open.

By the time he had awoke, it was too late. Arnold had turned, and was digging into his chest, tearing out organs, and Lee could not speak. He was in agonizing pain, crying wordlessly. He couldn't even let out a yell, or a scream, or a noise of any sort, and soon he blacked out. The last thing he saw was dark red blood; all over him, all over Arnold, all over the room.


	11. Chapter 11: Stranger Road

**Chapter 11 "Stranger Road"**

**Day 22**

As usual these days, very few people were getting any sleep. Lyrik, Otis, and Shawn were the only ones who got regular sleep tonight, not waking up at all throughout the night. Robert was constantly waking up throughout the night, being awoken by nightmares and noises he was probably imagining. Looking across the room, Lyrik seemed peaceful, and that was horrifying to Robert. It seemed so out-of-place, so unnatural. He grabbed his new machete and walked to Lyrik's bed slowly, and quietly. He held his breath as he reached out a hand to touch her neck for a pulse, his other hand drawn back, ready to swing. He pressed three fingers against her neck and felt nothing, and he panicked for a moment, before he finally felt another heartbeat, and another a while later. She was fine. Robert ran his hand across his face and sighed. He felt so stupid. He went back across the room and fell down, lying back in his bed, and he drifted back to sleep, hoping he could finally rest.

Hershel was having an equally difficult time sleeping, for the same reasons. So many things were going through his head, and he knew that soon another of his family would be dead. Things were getting stressful, and there was no way of making it any better. He was staring up at the ceiling, and he felt compelled to speak aloud. Not to himself, but to his wife. He felt as though she were lying next to him, as she had for the last seventeen years. As if she were there for him, as she always had been, to help him. Give him advice, tell him everything was going to be okay. Hershel could feel tears coming, but he fought them back. He sat up, accepting that he wasn't going to get any rest tonight, and grabbed his Bible off of his bed stand. If anything could keep him level-headed, keep his mind off of sad things, it was the good book.

After reading a few pages, and as the sun started to rise, he began hearing some very faint noises outside of his room. He assumed that it was just someone getting up to go to another person's room, or perhaps for water, but he wasn't going to take any chances. He grabbed his rifle and got up to check it. He stepped lightly to his door, and opened it as quietly as possible, which wasn't very, as the door creaked open loudly in the quiet of the night, like a shotgun in an open field. Looking around, no one was in the hall, and he began to head towards the living room when the sounds started again, this time a bit louder. They were coming from deeper in the hallway. He started his way back down, listening carefully for the source. He made it to the end of the hall and realized that the faint sounds were coming from Arnold's room. Hershel drew in a deep breath, expecting to find Arnold's body, a knife shoved into his head, and Lee sobbing over his body. Instead, he was met with nearly the opposite. Lee was on the chair Hershel had sat in, dead, blood pouring out of his mouth and neck, his weapons still in their holsters. Arnold was on him, eating into his body, a rabid animal. Arnold's focus is then turned to Hershel, who quickly slams the door closed, panicking.

On the opposite end of the hall, Seth turns the corner and enters the bedrooms hallway. He sees Hershel looking into Arnold's room, and he was about to call out when Hershel slams the door in panic. He locks eyes with Seth, and he motions him to come over quietly. At the slam, Patricia and Robert peek their heads out of their respective rooms, and Hershel whisper-yells at them to get back in their rooms and make sure that they're secure.

When Patricia and Robert finally closed their doors, Seth was beside Hershel and he asked what was going when a thud hit the door. Arnold had thrown himself against it, searching for Hershel, craving his flesh. Seth desperately looked to Hershel, realizing what had happened. "Is that..?" he said to Hershel, his voice shaking. "Where's Lee?"

Hershel looked back and forth between Seth's eyes and his chest, seeing it rise and lower more and more rapid as time went by, and as he got more upset. "I'm sorry," was all Hershel could say. Then, Seth busted through the door, and raised his gun, hitting Arnold in the face, sending him backwards a few feet. Horrified at Seth's sudden, impulsive movement, Hershel hurriedly lifted his gun and shot Arnold dead. Seth quickly noticed the wretched, disgusting mess of organs and blood lying in the chair. Lee's corpse was sitting there, collapsed in on itself, and his eyes were opening, and he was reanimating. Seth gasped and lowered his gun. Hershel noticed and raised his gun to put him down, thinking that Seth was in too much trauma to do it, but Seth put a hand on Hershel's arm. He looked to the older man and nodded. Seth slowly raised his gun and aimed it at Lee's head. Lee's undead eyes stared back at Seth, almost challenging him to pull the trigger. A single tear rolled down Seth's cheek and he shot.

It was dead quiet for two whole minutes, people coming out of their rooms with weapons ready, expecting walkers. They saw Hershel and Seth in the doorway, and they lowered their weapons, and gathered around the room, wordlessly taking in the scene ripped straight from a gory horror movie.

* * *

><p>After the silence, everyone had departed to their rooms to pack. There was no way they were going to stay here any more. The tragedies they suffered in such a short time in Albertville were too great, and staying would feel like torture, constant reminders everywhere.<p>

A funeral was held at noon, and Arnold and Lee's bodies were taken to the back yard and buried next to where the young walker was buried by Seth. They planned to leave right after, so everyone was holding their bags and weapons, ready to go when it was all over. Again, Hershel headed the funeral. Once again, coincidentally, it was a funeral with one of his beloved relatives, and the equivalent of a stranger. No one spoke other than Hershel, who said the same thing he said at the last funeral, with an added, "You will never be forgotten. We love you Arnold." Seth seemed like he was going to speak, but decided against it.

They turned away from the graves, and went into their cars. The Greenes plus Patricia and Otis got into the van, and Robert, Lyrik, and Seth's people got into the white car, leaving the blue car behind, though the leftover gas was siphoned out. They drove off, headed westward. As they were driving, a voice came over the radio, though it was hard to understand what it was saying through the static. "Anyone.. Nash-.. It's.. go.. Nashville." Shawn looked to Hershel, and they turned from going west on the road and went north, headed for Nashville.

* * *

><p>They made it into a watery town about thirty minutes after departing. Lyrik was the only one who paid attention to the sign that they passed when entering city limits, and according to her, the name of the town was Guntersville. "There's too damn many 'Villes around here," Seth said in response. "We need to get out of the south." The town was like an island, or more accurately a peninsula. There were many large bridges spanning across a large lake surrounding it, and in order to get off the peninsula, they had no choice but to turn around and take a very gas-guzzling detour, or cross one of the bridges. This wouldn't be a problem, as the bridges seem very sturdy, but three of the four bridges are quite thin and are scary to many of the passengers. The largest one heads directly north, just as they are planning to go, but there are many cars cluttering the way through. They decided to just go to the north one, get out, and clear a path.<p>

They went as far into the mass of cars as they could, weaving between trucks and SUVs carefully, before they had to stop and make a path. Otis, Seth, and Shawn got out to push other vehicles. Seeing them out there as the only ones capable of pushing really hammered in how big the loss of Lee and Arnold was. _If they were still here, they'd be able to help,_ was a thought going through nearly everyone's heads.

The three got a van out of the way, which allowed for Hershel and Jessie, who had taken over driving for Seth, to move deeper through the jam. As Seth, Otis, and Shawn turned around to follow the cars and unhinge the next obstacle, a voice behind them shouted, "Freeze!"

Seth whispered under his breath, "Fuck," and they stopped and lifted their hands compliantly.

"Good," the voice said. It was clearly a male's. "Now, put your weapons down. All of them."

Angrily, Seth reached down for his gun and threw it to his feet. Shawn and Otis did the same.

"If that's not it, I'm not afraid to shoot," a woman's voice said.

"Turn around," the man said.

The three turned around, finally able to get a look at the menaces. The man didn't look nearly as tough as he sounded, and was quite thin; very little muscle mass. The woman looked even weaker, holding a gun that looked way too big for her. It appeared to be a fully automatic machine gun, which was quite intimidating to the boys. She had thin, blonde hair up in a bun, and her body was just as thin. She was wearing clothes that seemed to be too big for her, obviously having gone hungry recently.

"We don't want to hurt you," said the woman.

"We don't want to hurt _you,_" echoed Seth cockily.

"Look, we're not here to kill you, or anyone with you. We will. But that's only if you don't listen to us," the man said, a tinge of fear running through his eyes. He knew he and the woman beside him were greatly outnumbered, but they knew what they needed and wanted, and it seems like they were desperate enough to risk dying for it. "We just need some food. A little fuel, medical supplies, ammo, weapons. Anything that could help."

Seth smiled at them. "Oh, so you're just nice people looking for help? Yeah, sure. That's exactly why you drew guns on us and are threatening me and my people, huh? 'Cause you're just lovely folks who need some sugar." He scoffed at them and quickly grabbed his gun and shot it at the woman, trying to take down the one with the most dangerous weapon, but she dodged it and hid behind a car. The man hid behind another car in the opposite direction, and he began firing it back at Seth, Shawn, and Otis, and they all took cover behind a van. The woman behind the car threw her gun to the ground and cussed, peeking over to make sure that her friend was okay. Luckily for them, they both were unscathed, though deathly scared.

Inside the cars, people were ducking, covering their heads, doing their best to stay out of the windows. The smallest people and those in the front seats tried cramming themselves in the floorboards, and many people would occasionally peek up to see what was happening, like Jessie, Lyrik, Beth, and Patricia.

Then, unexpectedly, a very high voice yelled, "Stop!" The gunfire instantly stopped because it sounded almost like a child's. It was a child's. A small white boy with light brown hair exited an RV they had weaved past back down the pile up, and ran for the blonde woman. "Sierra!" he said as he ran to hug her. Sierra quickly grabbed him and pulled him into cover behind her car, scorning him.

"Ron, damn it, didn't I tell you to stay in the RV! It's too dangerous out here. Fuck!" she said and looked across the way to the man. He groaned and frustratedly threw his head back. He raised his hands, and Sierra sighed and did the same. Ron raised his hands as well, as a child might do, and Sierra gave him a dirty look.

Seth squinted at the young boy, keeping his gun raised and he thought he had seen a ghost. He was about to yell back to the cars, but it would have been too late. Jessie had gotten out of her seat and ran for the boy, hysterically screaming, "Ron! My baby, Ron!"

Everyone aside from Seth looked on quizzically, either out of disbelief or confusion. Ron ran past Sierra, who was in shock and let him pass without thinking. She snapped back into reality and chased after Ron, not wanting him to be deceived and hurt. The man looked like he was about to cry, both of joy, and of a twinge of sadness that he may no longer be Ron's guardian. Jessie and Ron were now hugging in the middle of the road, Sierra feet behind them, awkwardly watching them hug, looking stunned. They hugged for what felt like an eternity, crying and whispering "I love you," to each other.

They finally pulled apart from one another and looked into each other's eyes. Reality painted itself back into view, and the stood. Ron waved his hand, gesturing for the man to come over. "Mommy, these are my friends. They helped me out, and took care of me. That's Sierra," he said pointing to the blonde, who awkwardly smiled at Jessie, "and that's Xavier." The man mirrored Sierra's expression and waved.

Jessie smiled genuinely back at them, seemingly already forgetting that they held her friends up at gunpoint. She shook their hands and with a big smile, couldn't stop saying, "Thank you so much. Thank you, really, thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me."

"Of course, Ms. Anderson," Xavier said in return.

"Oh, please, really? Just call me Jessie," she said, smilingly warmly. Sierra smiled back, things not getting any less awkward.

Ron looked up at his mother with desperate eyes and plead, "Mommy, can we please come with you?"

Jessie turned around to look at Seth, who shrugged. Seth turned around as well, to look to Hershel, who looked absolutely dumbfounded. He exited the van and got a good look at them. He bent down to the young boy, looked back up to Sierra and Xavier, and asked the boy, "Do you think these people are good people?"

"Yes, sir," the small boy tweeted.

"How do you know them?"

"When that one building in Atlantica g-"

"Atlanta," Jessie and Sierra said at the same time to correct Ron, and looked to one another slightly stunned.

"Yeah!" Ron said, smiling that they both helped him. "Well, when it got destroyed, Sierra and Xavier were there watching over me and my friends, Ethan, Lila, Nellie, Louis, and Eliza. But I don't know what happened to them. These two other guys were with us, but they got bit…" Ron trailed off.

A few shots then rang with no warning as Seth and Otis had taken down a few stray walkers that were attracted to the gunfire from moments before.

Hershel nodded solemnly to Ron, realizing how awful this world must be to children. "So, young man. You trust them?"

Ron nodded happily. "Yes, sir. I promise," he said, pointing his pinky at the elderly man.

Hershel smiled and put his pinky out, accepting the promise. He looked to the two behind the boy and jokingly said, "Well, the man here says you're all good," and he smiled at them. "You're comin' with us."

Sierra and Xavier smiled to each other and Xavier tousled Ron's hair, who looked giddy. Ron led Jessie and the two back to the RV, and said, "Look mom, come see my room." Sierra and Xavier had obviously been taking turns sleeping on the floor and the couch of the trailer, and they had given Ron the back room for himself.

Hershel and Shawn came up to them a few moments later, and they discussed how they would leave this place. Hershel said that they spotted another RV a bit in front of where he had parked when they stopped the three they had out pushing, and that they could put all of their gas, plus gas from other cars in the pile up, into the two RVs and leave in those; but to do that, room would have to be made in their RV. Sierra and Xavier looked glumly down to Ron, knowing he would now have to give up, or at least share, his bed. Ron spoke up, "Okay. Mommy, Sierra, Xavier, and I can sleep in that bed!"

Sierra looked to Jessie, who smiled at her. "That sounds fine to me, dear," Jessie told Ron. Xavier and Sierra looked to one another awkwardly.

Now, the group would be traveling in the two RVs. Jessie, Ron, Sierra, and Xavier stayed in Xavier's RV, while Hershel, Maggie, and Beth stayed in the other, and everyone else shuffled in between.


	12. Chapter 12: Nashville

**Chapter 12 "Nashville"**

**Day 24**

The group had been on the road, bunking with the new people, and not having to find houses to stay in anymore. They could finally just blend in, look like abandoned vehicles, and get a good rest without burning precious calories and risking their lives clearing out houses. Of course, there were many drawbacks. With a group this large, things got awkward, and sometimes disgusting. There was very little room to share among themselves, and often they had other people's feet or butts in their face.

Thankfully, it has only been two nights that they have had to put up with this. On this day, things were looking up. All of this gross sleeping together in such close quarters was going to change. Everyone would get their own room, and finally be happy, and maybe even be reunited with friends and family. This would all be over.

They were now about five miles out from Nashville, just passing through a town no one bothered to look at the name for. Rain was pouring outside the windows of the RV, creating a beautiful sound that calmed and soothed certain members of the group. Water hitting against the metallic roof of the vehicle, a familiar sound to the Greenes, Otis, Patricia, and Robert. Reminded them of home; of cold nights in with the family; of the countryside during storms. It was almost magical. In the distance, smoke could faintly be seen through the wet windshield. "Must be nice and warm. Maybe havin' 'em a barbecue," Otis said, half-joking. "Must be a real big one," Patricia added.

At the couch, Shawn, Amanda, and Beth were in the middle of a conversation.

"Wait, you used weed?" Beth asked, amazed.

"Yup. Crack, too. Even heroin and meth. But it's nothing to brag about, girl. That shit fucks you up."

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. But what made you stop?"

"Well, it was Erin. She and I were friends, long before all this started. She really helped me out. I was in a bad crowd. Lots of assholes and addicts," Amanda trailed off for a second, looking at her hands, looking at scars on her wrists from years ago. "What got me was this one night, I.. my boyfriend at the time, he was throwing a party. I was there, and so were all the cool people in my school. And all of the addicts. Was a great party. But, my boyfriend, he was really pushing me. He got me to take a cocktail of drugs and alcohol all mixed together. I don't know how he got me to do it, but he did. I passed out, and I guess one of the kids saw me and called Erin, 'cause they knew we were friends. She came over and helped me, when no one else would. Got me into rehab, got me all clean. God, I wish she was still here. She's the only reason I am."

Shawn looked on, feeling ashamed for asking. "I'm sorry for-"

"Don't be," she said. "I'm just glad I could finally get it off my chest."

Beth looked like she was about to cry, and reached over the table to give her a big hug. "No one should have to go through somethin' like that. I'm so sorry" Amanda returned the hug and smiled. These were good people.

* * *

><p>In the other RV, Xavier decided to let Seth drive, as he had been quite nice to him, along with the fact that he was tired of always driving this hunk of junk. Now, Xavier and Sierra were lying in the bed with Robert and Lyrik talking about the world, while Jessie and Ron sat up front playing with the boy's toys.<p>

"Yeah, I kinda used to be a model," Sierra said. "I didn't get a lot of work near the end, before this all started, but y'know. I was happy."

"I could totally see that," Lyrik said.

"Right?" Robert said. "She looks like a mix between Hayden Panettiere and Dakota Fanning."

Sierra laugh happily, blushing slightly. "Thanks, I guess."

Robert nodded to her, smiling. "Well, what did you do?" he asked Xavier.

"Uh, well. I was an actor. Not a great one, obviously, but I got as much work as I could."

"Oh, so is that how you two know each other?" Lyrik asked.

"Yeah," Xavier said, glancing to Sierra and awkwardly looking away when their eyes met. "Um," he paused. Robert and Lyrik smiled to each other, delighting in the two's mannerisms. "My manager was really pushing for professional shots - photos, I mean. And he set me up with one of Atlanta's most respected photographers, and apparently Sierra was there working with him that day. Originally, we were both going to have separate photoshoots, but the photographer thought we were a cute couple, so he made us pose together. One of the pictures we took together actually ended up on a magazine. From there, we just, you know. Started hanging out. Became really close."

"Okay, so, are you two a thing or what?" Robert asked, feeling almost thrilled to finally be able to gossip again. It made things seem almost normal. God, did he miss this.

Sierra laughed to herself and looked to Xavier, inaudibly telling him to tell the story.

"Well, not anymore," he said coyly.

Lyrik playfully gasped. "I told you so! You owe me five bullets, Robert," she said, making them all laughed.

"No," Sierra said. "We're not a thing. But we used to be. We broke up just a little while before this all started. It's just a sick twist of fate that we were both given kid-watching duty in Atlanta when the shit hit the fan at our refuge."

"I'll say," Xavier nodded.

"So, is that how you guys wound up with Ron?" Lyrik asked.

"Yeah," Xavier said and grew quiet, more serious. "There were others, too. Some we had, some we didn't. There was six kids we were watching at the time, but there were many more throughout the place, but most of them were with their parents, so I can only hope they made it," Xavier paused, looking out the wet window at the passing scenery of cars crashed in ditches, walkers eating things on the sides of the road, and what looked to be another group of survivors at one point, but they all went into the woods before Xavier could register it. He looked back to everyone and caught his train of thought. "We lost this pair of siblings. Names were Eliza and Louis, but we're pretty sure they made it to their parents. There were two other little girls and a boy, though. Nellie, Ethan, and Lila. Ethan and Lila died to the herd that attacked, and Nellie was bitten during it. She, uh. She turned the next morning and we had to put her down in front of Ron. God, that was hard to explain. Hard enough to explain that we didn't know where his mom was." Xavier seemed to be on the verge of tears, and Sierra put a hand on his shoulder.

After a few moments of slightly awkward silence, Sierra looked to Robert and Lyrik, and said with playfulness returning to her voice, "So what about you two? Are you guys a thing?"

Lyrik and Robert looked to each other and laughed loudly. "Yeah, girl," Lyrik said, still laughing. "Me and this boy are in _love_, makin' babies an' shit."

Robert laughed even harder. After a few moments, he finally stopped laughing and was able to speak. "No," he said. "For one, I'm gay. For two, her? Really? She's _unbearable!"_

Lyrik scoffed playfully and smiled to Sierra. "Doesn't mean I'm not a good catch, though. And neither's Robert over here, huh Xavier? Huh?" Lyrik said, vocally nudging Xavier's shoulder.

Xavier chuckled lowly and awkwardly. "Nah," he said. "I don't swing that way. Not that there's anything wrong with it, though! It's just, you know, not for me."

Robert was smiling at Xavier, but when he said that, Robert was hit with the thought that he may never see another gay guy again. The people here could be the only people he ever sees again. Realizing he was being watched stare off into the distance, he quickly thought of a retort. "We'll see about that. Change your mind, you call me first, baby."

Xavier laughed, attempting to think of something to say back, but the RV suddenly stopped, flinging everyone forward. "What the hell, Hershel?!" Seth yelled from the driver's seat.

In the front RV, Hershel was forced to put a sudden halt to the trip, interrupting everything going on in both of the vehicles and nearly causing Seth to crash right into the back of the leading RV. In front of them, a large mass of walkers was visible. The smoke was now clarified to be the city of Nashville, aflame and destroyed, in cinders and ruin, painting a devastating background behind the herd as rain poured down heavily onto it all. Many gasps were heard, and Hershel looked horrified. For him, this cemented that there was no safety. There was no sanctuary. Maggie put a hand on his shoulder, sadly looking at the destruction.

Hershel kissed his daughter's hand and composed himself. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said to those in his RV. "I thought we would finally be safe. I guess I was wrong."

Patricia, Amanda, Otis, and Beth looked coldly at the remains of the city as Hershel made a u-turn, taking the group away from the awful scene. The rain seemed the intensify, the sound growing louder. It looked as if they may never catch a break.


	13. Chapter 13: Fingers

**Chapter 13 "Fingers"**

**Day 31**

It had been a week since the group found Nashville burned to cinders, walkers riddling the streets. The group had been on the road a lot, trying to find a permanent, steady shelter. So far, they had found very little, other than some supplies and a ton of walkers. They had found many new, great weapons, and even an old map that came in very useful. After inspecting it many times, Patricia discovered that they weren't far from a national park in Missouri, the Mark Twain National Forest. There were many residences there, and it was a pretty open area where things could be pretty easily managed, very similar to Hershel's farm. Getting there was proving to be quite difficult, however, as they constantly kept reading the map wrong, or the paths would be blocked off by massive pile ups of cars or crashes of trains or tankers, or bridges would be out and they would have to take a detour.

Today, they were in a small town in south-eastern Missouri called Hayti. They were set up in a barn that they had set tents u around and used the RVs as a barricade. However, one of the RVs was currently gone, as a few members were on a run. Robert, Xavier, Seth, Maggie, and Otis had went out to scavenge for food and supplies when they stumbled upon an armory in a police department that had been untouched. In it was an armada of weapons: nightsticks, bats, an array of guns and ammunition, bullet-proof vests, pepper spray, whistles, and a few riot shields, but for some reason all of the riot gear was gone. Xavier assumed that the people who worked here took it out, responding to a mass emergency and not knowing they were walking into a party of reanimated corpses.

Beth had noticed how strong those around her were, or were becoming, and she didn't want to fall behind, or to be a liability, and she knew she could. She asked to be trained with the new weapons so that she would become less of a liability to the group, and no one was going to argue with her. Having more capable people is not a thing to be upset about.

Seth, Xavier, and Sierra handled weapons training, transporting the group of learners to the abandoned police department to practice on dummies and use the firing range. Robert, Lyrik, Patricia, Beth, and Amanda were the trainees. Robert had gotten pretty good at shooting and using his machete, but he wasn't going to miss any opportunities to get better. Amanda was a pretty good shot, but she never really had many chances to use any weapons, and she didn't want to lose what little skill she had. Lyrik, Patricia, and Beth, however, had hardly even held a weapon, let alone used it.

"Wait, so, where do I look?" Lyrik asked Seth who was helping her shoot. To her left, Robert was firing off shots, getting a few headshots. He had improved greatly since he first started. Amanda was on Lyrik's right side, struggling nearly as much as Lyrik was. She used to be better, but that was when she was about ten and her dad would take her out to the woods to shoot at squirrels.

"Where you plan to shoot, duh," Seth said to her.

"Oh my god, no, but like, how do I aim? Like, where do I look?"

"Okay, well, focus on the gun. The 'proper' way to do it is to look at the gun and not what you're aiming at. That little notch in the middle indicates any aim shift."

"Aim shift?"

"Uh, it's like, if the notch is higher than the two there, that means the bullet goes higher. If it's a bit to the left, the bullet shoots a bit to the left. See, with this one, the notch is a bit above them when you look at it like this. So, aim slightly lower than what you're trying to hit."

"Okay," Lyrik said, taking aim. She put her finger around the trigger and shot, a loud bang firing through the room. She jumped back, not expecting the gun to fire so easily, as the bullet went straight through the cut-out's shoulder. Realizing what she had done, she jumped up and down giddily. She grabbed Seth's hands and continued bouncing, happily yelling "I did it! I did it, I did it, I did it!"

Seth smiled at her, amused by her childishness. "Did you aim for the shoulder?" he asked.

"No," she said, still smiling. "But I hit it!"

Seth half-frowned at her. "Lyrik," he said, sighing. "Good job hitting it, but that's not something to celebrate about just yet. If you were trying to defend yourself against a walker and you got it in the neck, would you be celebrating about that like you just did? Just that you hit it."

Lyrik gave him a dirty look, feeling robbed of her joy. "Excuse me, sir, but that's not what's going on right now. Of course I wouldn't celebrate like that out there. But we're in a nice, safe place in this moment, and I'm happy that I'm making progress in shooting. Jesus," she said, rolling her eyes. She put her gun back up before Seth could reply and shot, hitting the cut-out right in the left eye. She looked back to Seth sassily, her face telling him to suck it. He half-smiled at her, embarrassed and blushing, feeling like a total jerk.

Xavier was currently helping Patricia and Beth with hitting walkers with knives and other melee weapons. Sierra was taking a break in the corner of the room cleaning her too-large machine gun. They were in a room that looked like a training room for a martial arts room, large dummies spaced evenly apart from one another.

"I know you girls know how to cook," he said, "but that's not what these knives are for. This is much different. Ideally, you're going to want your blades - or any sharp weapons, I guess - to be as sharp as you can get them. Any chance you get, sharpen them. Keep them clean, too, just in case you need to use them for something else that they'd need to be sanitary for, such as cutting food, or killing an animal to eat. You don't want to waste food by slicing walker guts into it like that, do you? Anyways, sorry. Show me what you've got."

"What a monologue," Sierra said as Patricia and Beth ungracefully began weaving through the dummies, attacking them like children playing with toy swords.

Xavier shook his head, appearing frustrated, but actually struggling to keep from laughing. "Stop!" he yelled, startling the two. Slightly startled, Beth tripped and fell forward, dropping her knife. The knife, sharp as a butcher's cleaver, fell to the floor and cut off the pinky and ring finger on her left hand at the knuckles. She screamed in pain and confusion, not understanding what had just happened, blood gushing all over her as she instinctively clutched it, staining her dull yellow shirt, squirting onto her neck and chin.

Everyone in the room audibly gasped as they realized what was happening. Patricia ran to her and grabbed Beth's hand. "Xavier," she yelled, ripping off a large part of her dress and wrapping it onto Beth's hand, "get over here and put pressure on this! Sierra, help me find something to get these fingers into." She handed the hand off to Xavier and grabbed up the fingers, running to the door where her bag was. In it was a little bit of alcohol. She looked back and said shakily, "It'll be okay, Beth, you just hold tight."

Sierra had ran out of the room and to the firing range. "Seth! Get everyone out here and help me find something cold! Ice, cold water, anything! Beth cut off some of her fingers! _Hurry!"_

Everyone quickly holstered their guns and threw their loose ammo into the gun bag by the door. They searched the department, looking for a working tap or a fridge. They had spent about three minutes searching before Lyrik had found a fridge, but there was just some rotten lunch in a paper bag with the name James written on it and a few cans of cream soda. After, the group came to the conclusion that there was nothing here they could use and Patricia ordered everyone to get in the RV they had brought to quickly get them back to the group so that she and Hershel could reattach the fingers.

Beth was slouching on her side in the couch, hyperventilating and panicking. "Do you think she'll make it?" Lyrik asked.

"Well, she'll obviously make it," Patricia said condescendingly. "The question is whether or not her fingers will make it. If we had something to keep them cold, so long as we got back to Hershel within twelve hours, we'd be good. But we don't have that luxury, so all we can do is hope."

Xavier was quickly driving along the road through the small town, trying to get back to their camp set up in a barn outside of town. However, they were halted. A large mass of walkers was coming their way, and if they stayed where they were, their RV might be trampled right over. "Does anyone know another way to the barn?" Xavier asked, swinging the RV around sharply.

"I dunno," Seth said, "why? What are you doing, dude?!"

"Well, not to alarm anyone, but there's a huge herd between us and the road to the barn, and it's coming our way. For now, I'd be more worried about the people we left at the camp."

Sierra seemed very anxious, and worriedly said, "That herd could have swept over the barn and either killed them or separated them. If we're lucky, that herd came from another direction."

Robert dumbfoundedly looked to them. "Herd? What's that supposed to mean?"

Xavier half-frowned to Robert. "It's when a bunch of walkers converge. They have, like, a hive mind. They move as one. When one hears a gunshot, all of them follow. It's devastating."

Everyone in the group looked on worriedly and prayed that everything would be okay.

Beth screamed in agony, reminding everyone of the dire situation. Patricia bent on her knees, doing her best to reduce Beth's pain and keep her calm. Amanda looked down at the wet paper towel she was told to hold and unwrapped it slightly to look at the fingers. They were beginning to turn purple, and Amanda held her breath, waiting for Patricia to leave Beth's side, so that Beth wouldn't panic any more than she has.

Sitting next to Xavier in the passenger seat, Robert was trying to direct him with their map. "Turn left down 4th Street! It'll put us on a path to a highway and we can swing back around to the barn."

They kept driving and turned onto the highway that Robert had pointed out, but were met with the herd. It was much larger than they had expected. "Get down!" Xavier said, turning off the RV and ducking into the floorboard.

"What?!" Robert said, following Xavier's lead.

"We don't have a choice," Xavier whispered. "Everyone get your weapons at the ready. Beth, I'm sorry about this. If you have to scream, grab a pillow."

Everyone ducked down low, closing curtains and staying low under windows that it was too late to close. If they were lucky, they hadn't been spotted.

Soon, they could be heard. The moans and bumps of the undead were horrifying. Their groans were awful, and they could be felt falling against the RV or scratching on it occasionally. Some of the survivors inside held their breath, some of them cried, others braced themselves, clutching their knives and guns.

It felt like a year of tense silence, but after about two hours, the noises died down, signalling that the herd had nearly passed. In that silence, Amanda had witnessed the fingers turn darker and begin to smell. When the herd had finally thinned, Amanda signalled Patricia over and subtly showed her the fingers. Patricia looked devastated, and looked to Beth, who had fallen asleep. Patricia shook her head, clarifying that the fingers would not be able to be reattached. She took them and put them on a cabinet across from the couch and went back to keep an eye on Beth. When Xavier was certain that they could move once more, he started up the RV and made a U-turn, headed back into town for the quicker way to the barn.

They arrived to see that the camp was completely untouched, everyone doing their normal business as though everything was fine. Everyone in the RV breathed a collective sigh of relief that the herd had come from another direction. Patricia and Lyrik ran to Hershel, who had just come out of the barn looking very confused, with a drowsy Beth. They laid her down on a hay bale with a sheet over it, Patricia explaining the whole time what had happened. She shoved out her fist, a paper towel in it. Hershel, looking shocked and worried, hesitantly took the paper towel and unrolled it, met with two fingers turning an unnatural color. Beth was thankfully asleep again when he had to say, "There's no way we can reattach these."

"Well, you need to help her no matter what!" Patricia said to Hershel. "Sew her up, clean the wounds as best you can, do anything and everything!"

Hershel nodded, quickly getting to work. Thankfully, Beth was out cold, so she wasn't awake to feel the pain or scream. He worked tirelessly and dutifully with the help of Patricia and Lyrik, with Robert, Sierra, Xavier, Jessie, Maggie, and Amanda watching closely, hoping to learn tips and things about how to handle situations like this.

An hour of tense waiting later and Hershel announced to the group the progress that had been made. "The fingers were sewed up well," Hershel said. "I'm sure she'll make a full recovery. Well, as full as you could expect," he told the group. _Of course, anything could happen,_ he thought to himself. _It always seems to, these days.  
><em>


	14. Chapter 14: Mark Twain National Forest

**Chapter 14 "Mark Twain National Forest"**

**Day 33**

The group had spent another day at the barn on the outskirts of Hayti, just to make sure that Beth would be ready and able to go. Of course, with her hand a huge ball of bandages, she wouldn't be much help either way, but there's no good in bringing someone unfit to travel, especially if they're in screaming agony. Thankfully, she was doing very well on this day, and they decided they would leave immediately.

They made it to a perfect area in the park about four hours later, around 1 in the afternoon. It was a house in the middle of the forest, a few meters from a small river, and it was in the middle of a clearing, where the sides of the forest could be seen for about half a mile out all around the house.

Robert, Xavier, Seth, and Sierra went inside to clear out the house, but found nothing. The whole house seemed to be completely intact, no signs of scavengers raiding it or even the people who lived here leaving it. Family photos were still in place above the fireplace and along the hallway. A jewelry box found in the master bedroom seemed to be untouched, stocked full of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. "The residents must have been out when this all started," Robert said, he and Sierra trying on some of the jewelry. "Maybe they were on vacation." While trying on the jewelry, Robert looked at himself in the mirror. His facial hair was growing in and it was rough. It had been bugging him a lot over the past few days, being unused to the prickly hair. _God, I hope this house has razors in it somewhere, _he thought. _Seth, Xavier, and Shawn look a bit overdue for a shave, as well._

"Or just at the store a few miles back. At work. Maybe picking up their kids from daycare. Who knows," Seth said.

"Or they're still alive," Xavier said forebodingly.

The house was moderately small, but it had two stories and a basement. Thankfully, the living room and the bedrooms were very large, and provided sufficient space for everyone to stay in comfortably.

The yard was odd, though; the fence formed a right triangle around the house, with the side to the east having the farthest point, and three small buildings lining it. One was a tool shed, another was a chicken coop, and the farthest one was a small barn where hay, seeds, and animal food was kept. The fence surround the yard was tin beginning to rust, small streaks of reddish-brown spaced out along it. On the hypotenuse side to the northwest was a pre-plowed garden, with neglected plants growing, moderately drooping. Thankfully, it rained enough around here that watering it wasn't necessary, and when it wasn't raining, there was plentiful sunlight.

Further exploring the less likely nooks and crannies (just in case; after Arnold, being _too_ safe wasn't a thing) Seth opened the fridge to find tons of rotten food, creating a foul, awful odor that made him gag. "Well," he yelled to Xavier, "whoever lived here is definitely gone. Or a fuckin' slob," he finished, gagging once more before slamming the fridge shut. He hesitantly opened the deep freeze, not wanting to be confronted with such an awful stench, but not wanting to leave any stone unturned. There were many things frozen inside, such as bagged chicken, ground beef, harvested vegetables, and some lunch meats. He smiled, checking the expiration dates and determining that most of the food inside was still good thanks to the added lifeline of being frozen.

The four took their findings back to Hershel, who had kept the group outside of the RVs, ready to fight or defend should they be needed, with Patricia, Lyrik, Jessie, Ron, and Beth still inside the vehicles to help anyone who got injured. They said that the place checks out, and that they found many things that the group could use, including fresh changes of clothes and the actually edible meat. Hershel smiled happily and they began to unpack their meager belongings from the RVs to settle into their new home. Hopefully this time they could find peace.


	15. Chapter 15: El Río

**Chapter 15 "El Río"**

**Day 35**

The house had been quite nice to live in. It had a beautiful front porch where they liked to have breakfasts. They had really enjoyed having more meat in them, as well. It had been a few weeks since they had last had meat before now.

Everyone got rooms and roommates they were happy with. Sierra and Amanda bunked in one room; Hershel and Maggie shared the biggest room; Robert, Lyrik, and Xavier shared a room; Shawn and Beth stayed together; Otis and Patricia got their own room; and Seth decided to stay with Jessie and Ron. There was one extra room, but everyone was too scared to sleep in a room alone.

Two days after arriving, Patricia and Otis went to the river to check how clean the water looked. They wouldn't trust it at all without boiling it first, but it did seem to be clear enough for them to wash their clothes in. They headed back for people to help them take their old clothes out and wash them. Later, they planned for everyone to bathe in the river if this proved to be a good. Obviously, they wouldn't all bathe at once, but they also would not have anyone go alone.

Jessie and Lyrik volunteered to help out with washing, and everyone aside from Jessie, who was refusing to learn how to shoot, took a gun with them. Now that Jessie had her son, she believed that shooting, especially at strangers, was the worst thing you could do, and that she would never fire another gun again. Despite many members of the group constantly reminding her that the gun is only for protection, she still refused to take or use a gun.

At the river, the four were washing the laundry, making small talk.

"And how Sierra and Xavier called walkers 'D.K.s'?" Otis said. "I actually thought that was pretty cool, though."

"So did I," Patricia said. "I like the different names people have for them. Allison called them lurkers once."

"Yeah," Jessie said, half-frowning to herself. She wanted to change the subject to avoid getting sad about Erin. She remembered the razors Robert had found and asked, "Otis, why didn't you shave with the other guys?"

"I dunno," he said. "I think I look kinda good with a bit of a beard, don't y'all? Hershel, too."

Patricia laughed and reached over to put her arm around his shoulder and kissed him. "I think you look 'kinda good' any way, Otis. Hershel, too." Everyone laughed.

"God, I can't believe what those other fools look like now," Lyrik said.

"Tell me about it," Patricia said, laughing. "Seth looks the weirdest."

Jessie hummed an mm-hm. "I can't believe how much of a difference shaving can make in a guy's appearance."

"Well, at least some of them still look pretty cute," Lyrik said. "Like Xavier. Yes, _ma'am,_ he looks good."

Everyone laughed at Lyrik. The air of the group slowly dissipated, and just as Otis was about to speak, hoping to change the subject from gossiping about cute boys, voices could be heard in the distance. What they were saying was very hard to determine. Jessie and Patricia quickly gathered up the clothes in the stream and put them in their baskets, making an attempt to run back to the house. As they got up, Patricia grabbed her gun out of her pocket and put it on top of the clothes in her basket, ready to shoot just in case. Otis and Lyrik stayed behind, their guns pointed at the now moderately-visible figures. It appeared to be a group of five, and they could faintly be seen through the thick brush of the forest. They had large backpacks, and some were in clothes stained with blood. Though they looked like a very troubled group, they still seemed moderately happy. As they got closer and their voices got louder and what they were saying was more clear. "I think they're speaking Mexican," Otis said.

"Spanish, you mean?"

"Whatever. It's not English."

As the group came through the thick forest, a very thin boy pointed Otis and Lyrik out, and they all drew their guns. The scene was very much like an unfair Mexican standoff, both groups on opposite sides of a river. A woman in the front of the group who appeared to be the leader spoke up. "Hola," she said calmly.

"No habla español," Lyrik said.

"Okay, sorry," the woman said in reply. "Um, what's this?" she asked. Soon, she noticed movement by a house in the distance, and it appeared that people were lining up along the fence of it with sniper rifles. "Put down your guns," she quickly said to her people in Spanish.

"Why?" asked a short, blonde girl. The leader pointed over Otis and Lyrik's heads to the house where the group had their guns trained on the Spanish survivors. The members of the group immediately put down their guns, other than the blonde, who put hers down hesitantly after everyone else had. When she finally did, she looked very angry, as though she were a child in time-out.

"No more Spanish," Otis said. "We don't need y'all keepin' secrets, makin' plans right in our face."

"Now, cross the stream," Lyrik said, her voice shaking slightly.

"You want us to just trudge through this water?" the leader said, looking a bit offended.

"Well, if you don't want to get wet, find another way around," Lyrik said.

Otis looked to her as if she were making a mistake. "Keep your hands up the whole time, though," he said.

The group trekked down stream, finding a part where the river thinned and they could easily jump across. Lyrik and Otis kept their guns trained on them all as they made their way across the river. The woman made it to them and introduced herself as Selenis. Her companions were a fat man named Gabriel, a thin teenager named Oscar, the blonde mouthy girl as Abi-Maria, and a very beautiful though short brunette as Shakira. "No relation," she said after getting an inquisitive look from Lyrik. All of them were clearly Latino, and apparently fluent in Spanish.

"Mr. Garza?" Lyrik asked, awestruck, to the fat man.

He squinted, and then his eyes grew very large. "Lyrik?"

Lyrik kept her gun up, but awkwardly smiled at him. "Uh, hi."

Otis took the weapons they had and Hershel came out to them, followed Xavier, Seth, and Shawn who were armed to the teeth, and the wall of snipers still in action. The Hispanic group kept their hands up, ready to be spoken to. "So, you haven't fired at my group," Hershel said. "You haven't tried anything to resist. I'm going to assume you're good people. But you need to answer to me. Where did you come from, where were you going, and what do you want?"

"What do _we _want?" Abi-Maria yelled. "You stopped _us!"_

Selenis looked to her, giving her a death glare and checking around for any incoming walkers. Just as she expected, a few materialized from the woods. "Mirónes!" she said to her group, who turned to the walkers, or mirónes as they called them, lifted their guns, and opened fire, all of them going down with nearly only one shot per walker.

Seth whistled, impressed. "Hersh, you gotta let these guys join us. We need that kind of firepower."

The fiery blonde Latina turned to Seth, looking angry as ever. "What makes you think we want to join your little group?" she said, her accent noticeably thick.

"Well," the fat man apparently named Gabriel spoke up, "staying in one place for a while wouldn't be the _worst_ thing."

Selenis and Shakira nodded their heads. Abi-Maria crossed her arms angrily and continued trying to convince her group to move on. "Fine, let's stay here with these complete strangers and let them kill us in our sleep."

"Abi, we're all strangers. Stop it right now." Selenis turned to Hershel, "So, can we stay? Promise I'll keep an eye on this one here for you," she said, pointing to Abi-Maria, who angrily gasped.

Hershel turned to his people. Seth and Otis shrugged, Lyrik and Shawn nodded, and Xavier shook his head no. "They may be kind of useful, but I don't trust that mouthy one."

Hershel nodded and turned back to Selenis and her group. "Well, so long as you don't make trouble. But if any of you hurt any of my family, my people, in any way, we are not afraid to kick you out, or kill you if it comes to it."

The group of five nodded understandably, aside from Abi-Maria, of course. Hershel narrowed his eyes at her and she groaned, "Sí, I get it."

Hershel led the group back, with the same gut feeling he had about letting in the past two groups. Those two groups had proved to be good people, though, so he brushed off the feeling. 'Third time's the charm' is just a dumb old saying, right?


	16. Chapter 16: Friendly

**Chapter 16 "Friendly"**

**Day 37**

The new group seemed to be great, all but the obvious one being very friendly. Selenis and Gabriel seemed to be the nicest, with Oscar and Shakira seeming to mostly keep to themselves, like shy children. Abi-Maria stayed to herself, as well, but she literally stayed to herself. No one spent any time with her, and when they did, she would either complain or insult them. To her group, she tried to convince them that it was time they got moving. She would taunt and tease some people of Hershel's group. Originally, she tried to convince a few of them - namely Robert, Xavier, Sierra, Jessie, Patricia, and Beth - that they should leave with her and her group, often promising things way too great to be real, such as a huge, safe community up north, and reunion with people they had lost.

It was really quite pathetic. Even the people she had been traveling with had grown to hate her and spent as little time as possible with her. She absolutely hated it here, and loathed the thought of staying here with a bunch of hillbillies - or 'heelbeellies' as she called them. She hated Otis, Shawn, and Hershel the most. They were three hicks that she didn't want to spend the rest of her life, let alone five minutes, with.

Lyrik had realized that Gabriel was in fact her and Robert's old Spanish teacher from Hobbs. "So, how did you get here?" Robert had asked him, the three of them eating breakfast on the front porch.

"Well, back in Hobbs, things quickly fell apart. Marina," his wife, "and I got out of there with Emilia - you know, Ms. Navarette - and we made it to a survivor refuge set up by the government in Lubbock."

"So, you were in Hobbs when it happened?" Lyrik asked, curious about the state it and others were in.

"Yeah, I was. I saw a lot of people die before I left, though," Gabriel said sadly.

"I know it's hard to think about, maybe even to remember, but," Robert said hesitantly, "do you remember seeing anything? People we know getting out, or even dying? Or getting bit?"

"Um," Gabriel began. "I know I saw LaRissa's parents die. They got devoured. Mya got out with her mom and little brother, but I think her mom was bitten. Ryan and Tanner got out, but I'm not sure about their parents. Anastasia's parents died, but I know she made it out with some of her friends. I think maybe her brother, too. I know she had Skyler with her. Lily's family got out. Robert, I'm sorry, but I think your mom died. I don't know what happened to your dad. Lyrik, I can't remember if I saw any of your family. I saw Tari and Kari and their whole family die, though, along with a pretty much everyone else. They were in Walmart and a lot of walkers were on the way, and somehow the whole place went up in flames. Hundreds of people must have died there. It was awful to watch," Gabriel said, drifting off.

He was obviously haunted by these things. They couldn't imagine what it must have been like for him. Robert slightly regretted asking about it, and was tempted to apologize, but there was no reason to. He was just thankful that he knew how things turned out. "So, you were saying? About Lubbock?"

"Right. Lubbock. That's where Marina, Emilia, and I met Selenis, Oscar, and Shakira. We left a few days before it was apparently destroyed, because we went back and it was in ruins. Us and about seven other people made it out of Texas, and we met Abi-Maria and one of her friends not long after. We stayed with another group of people, but we found out they were murdering innocent people they met, for no reason. We tried to escape, but they killed my wife and a few friends of ours. We barely made it out, and we've been on foot ever since, sleeping in small houses or making little camps at night. Everyone else died as we made it this way. How did you guys get here?"

"Well," Lyrik started, "it was kinda my idea. Not sure how smart it was, though, thinking back on it now."

"Lyrik planned for me, her, Lily, and LaRissa to have a senior trip. We left like a week before this all started. We were in Georgia when it happened, and we met Hershel and his family. Then we met Seth and some of his friends, and he was followed by people he had apparently stolen from. They burned down Hershel's farm, and forced us out onto the road. We were constantly traveling ever since, and we met Xavier and Sierra, and they had apparently taken care of one of Seth's people's kids. Ron in there. They were at the same refugee camp Jessie was in, and they were the babysitters. They took care of Ron ever since the place was overrun."

"Wow," Gabriel said. "I guess we've all been through a lot, huh?"

"Yeah," Lyrik said.

"So, where are Lily and LaRissa?" Gabriel asked casually, and regretted it instantly when he saw their reactions. "Oh, no," he said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," Robert said as Lyrik grabbed his hand to comfort him. "We're not the only ones who lost people. You lost your wife."

Gabriel solemnly nodded his head. "I did," he paused, and thought back to it. "She was shot right in the back, trying to help one of our friends who had been shot in the ankle. I had no choice but to leave her. I still wonder sometimes, what if I had gone back? She could have made it. I was so selfish."

Robert stared blankly at Gabriel, understanding the pain. "You can't blame yourself," Lyrik said. Gabriel wiped a tear from his eye and looked down to his food. He wasn't hungry anymore.

"LaRissa was the first to go," Robert said, blankly looking into the woods behind Gabriel's head. "Some jackass basically threw her to walkers. Let them bite her."

"But he sacrificed himself to them right after," Lyrik said. "So that we could escape safely."

Robert stayed silent for a few more moments as Gabriel and Lyrik sadly looked on. "Lily died about three weeks later. We went scavenging in a supermarket, and we made the mistake of all splitting up. Solo. Lily was attacked by two walkers. She died with this," Robert said, pulling his white-handled machete out of the holster he never took off. "She found it in there, and tried to use it to kill the walkers, but I dunno. I guess she just couldn't get it. So I put her down, and I took the knife for myself."

Gabriel nodded his head and pulled out a pistol from his holster. He turned it around so Robert could see it had a pink trigger. "Marina found this in the armory of the place we were staying. She used it to kill her first walker. She put it in my bag when we escaped. 'For just in case,' she said. Now it's the only pistol I use. Gave mine to Oscar."

Robert smiled slightly to Gabriel. "Recycling," he called it. "I think that's beautiful."

Lyrik smiled, and jokingly said, "When you die, Robert, I'll take your machete and that semi-auto you always carry around. Recycling!"

Robert and Gabriel laughed. "That sure is comforting," Robert said, smiling. "That's dark, bitch."

"Is that a black joke?" Lyrik said, and they all shared a laugh.


	17. Chapter 17: After

**Chapter 17 "After"  
><strong>**Day 45**

Over the last ten days, things had been going just about as well as would be expected. Abi-Maria brought in a lot of drama for a while, but then seemed to have just given up. Everyone else carried on as usual all throughout it. Beth's fingers had healed to the point that touching them no longer hurts, but she still had to keep it wrapped while the skin healed back. Selenis had been given a lot of trust in leading a scavenging group a few days ago, and it went successfully. They had found many supplies in a town about seven miles south of them named Bunker, and even scouted out a few places around it in case something went wrong.

Abi-Maria had seemed to be keeping to herself for the past few days, and everyone had assumed that she had given up. That is, until she began stealing and breaking things that belonged to people in her group and blaming it on the people she despised. She broke the glass of a photograph on one of Oscar's pictures of his family, ripped a hole in Shakira's favorite sweater, and stole Gabriel's pink-triggered pistol and Selenis's makeup box. They found the gun and makeup box hidden behind a few bales of hay in the barn, and the glass fragments from Oscar's photo in the trash can in the basement, where the group stayed. She tried framing Hershel and his people, but she was doing it so carelessly and obviously.

"Hershel, I know you don't believe in killing people like that," Selenis told Hershel, the two sitting privately in the room he shared with Maggie, who was currently in Shawn and Beth's room, "and neither do I, but we have to do something. I thought once she realized that none of us wanted to go with her she would just leave on her own, or give up and become a part of the group, but apparently I was wrong. I'm afraid of what she'll do if we keep her around any longer."

Hershel looked grimly at Selenis. "I know she's dangerous," he said hesitantly, "but is there any chance she could change? We can't just throw her to the walkers, and I certainly won't have her killed," he said firmly, clenching a fist at the thought of killing another living being.

"I don't think we have much of a choice, Hershel. I've known her long enough to know that when she thinks something, when she's truly set on it, she'll do whatever it takes to get her way. You can try to talk her down all you want, but she just won't get how wrong she is. She's like a wolf desperate for food, even if that means killing her own. I would know," she said, drifting off.

Hershel worriedly stared at her. "Has she.. has she killed her own?"

Selenis looked into his eyes, silently conveying that she had.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," she said. The middle-aged woman was hoping she wouldn't have to say it, but it now appeared that she must. "We met her with this girl she apparently grew up with. Her name was Rosa. A week after they joined our group, she shot Rosa in cold blood after a huge argument about whether or not we should leave that place we were in. Rosa may have been on a side that promoted, or more accurately just turning a blind eye to, killing of innocent people for survival, but Abi-Maria actually did it. She just took her down, right in the middle of their arguing. And when she was asked about it by Oscar later, we thought she was gonna kill him, too. She even said that Rosa was a huge bitch, and that she didn't regret it at all."

Hershel looked into her eyes in fear. "I guess we have to get her out of here, then. Do you know how, though?"

"I have an idea. There was this town we scavenged a while back. The one you made me lead at. Bunker. We could tell her we're going on another run. Pack her some supplies, fix up a car we find out there, and eventually break it to her that she's out of the group. Leave her with the supplies and car and she'll go on alone. She's strong enough to survive on her own. She'll probably find other people, they might be like her."

Hershel nodded his head. "Alright," he said. "Let's get this show on the road, then. I want to do this as soon as possible."

The two left the room, and Selenis winked at Gabriel, signalling that the plan was in action. They went downstairs to the basement and began to pack Abi-Maria's stuff while she was in the bathroom, along with a bit of food and medical supplies. When they were done, Gabriel sat in the living room as though he had no idea what was going on and Selenis waited outside of the bathroom for Abi-Maria. When she exited, Selenis told her in Spanish, "I know you don't want to be around them, but you better get ready. We're going on a run, and I want you to come with us. Me, Hershel, Gabriel, and you. Maybe some others that Hershel wants to bring."

Abi-Maria looked both angry and slightly puzzled. "Hershel's going?"

"Well, he is the leader, after all. He just wants to finally feel like one."

"It's about fucking time he pulled some weight around here."

"You've been whining, crying, bitching, and sleeping in this room for ten days straight. Shut the fuck up."

Hershel came down the stairs and listened. "Still speaking in Spanish? Not hiding any secrets, are you?"

"Sorry, Hershel," Selenis said. Abi-Maria rolled her eyes, picked up her gun, and headed upstairs to wait at the door. Selenis and Hershel followed her up. "Come on, Gabe," Selenis said, and Gabriel pushed himself up, slightly struggling to stand.

As they were going out the door, Maggie came down the stairs. "Daddy? Where are you goin'?"

"Sorry, dear. I almost forgot to tell you. I'm going on a run. We'll be back in a few hours."

"With them?" Maggie asked, looking to the three Mexicans. "Alone? Are you sure, Daddy?"

"Yes, dear, everything's fine."

"But," Maggie began, looking right to Abi-Maria, who immediately scoffed when she realized what Maggie had implied. "Daddy, I don't care what you say, I'm coming with you."

"Well, alright," Hershel said, not wanting to argue too much. Selenis and Abi-Maria speaking in Spanish made him a little bit nervous that they could have been plotting against him, and he took comfort in knowing he'd have someone he trusted with him, even though it was his daughter, who he wanted to stay at the house, safe. He yelled into the kitchen where Patricia and Robert were making dinner, "We're going on a run. We'll be back in a couple hours."

"Okay," Patricia and Robert said in unison, then looked to each other, confused that Hershel was going. Patricia nodded her head to Robert, gesturing for him to go ask about the situation.

Robert ended up with the same story Maggie was told, and when he offered to go, Hershel made a strong, resounding "No, damn it," that he was not about to argue with. Hershel made an apologetic look after yelling at Robert, who nodded nervously in return. He felt guilty about yelling, but he knew Robert could take it. He just didn't want too many people put at risk, and not everyone needed to know what they planned to do to Abi-Maria.

The five got into Hershel's RV, and he drove into Bunker. Just outside of town, a van that looked to be in pretty good condition, though a bit dusty, was parked on the side of the road. The group got out and took down a few walkers around it. Gabriel got to work immediately after the walkers were taken care of. "Why the hell are we on the side of the road, fucking with an ugly old van?" Abi-Maria asked, complaining as always.

"Well, we can't always use the RVs," Selenis said. "They aren't very practical for runs like this, now are they?"

Abi-Maria rolled her eyes and watched as Gabriel tweaked with the van. Hershel finally got the van to start up, and he went into the RV with Maggie. Gabriel pretended that he still had to work on the van while Hershel was in the vehicle explaining what this run was really about to Maggie. She nodded, and finally understood. They exited the RV, Maggie carrying the bag they had packed for Abi-Maria.

"What the fuck is this?" Abi-Maria said in Spanish to Selenis.

"This," Selenis said in English, "is where we give you the news. As of today, you are no longer a member of this group. You've caused too much trouble and pain, and you obviously don't want to be there. So now you get your wish. You get to leave. We packed you a bag with all of your things in it plus some food and medicine to help you survive."

"This is bullshit, are you kidding me?" Abi-Maria said angrily. She grabbed her bag and began crying, but she still looked more angry than sad. "Are there any tissues in here?"

"There are rags," Hershel told her.

Abi-Maria opened the bag and began looking, pretending she was looking for the rags, but actually looking for a gun. Grabbing the one in her holster now would be too obvious, so she had to make use of the bag. Her finger slid against something metal, and she smiled slightly to herself. She quickly pulled it out and began firing it. Panicked, Selenis took cover behind a large rock as Gabriel ran off into the woods in the direction of the road back to the house. Maggie and Hershel attempted to run for the van, but Abi-Maria shot Maggie in the leg, causing her to double over in pain. "Maggie!" Hershel yelled, stopping to attempt to help her stand. "Come on, baby," he said, bringing her to one knee. He wasn't going to leave his daughter, his flesh and blood. He was trying his hardest to get his daughter up and to safety, and if he were strong enough, he would have just picked her up and carried her.

Behind the rock, Selenis had her gun and was firing it at Abi-Maria, who was now taking cover behind the van. As Selenis shot again, she got Abi-Maria in the left shoulder after she had shot Maggie's leg, causing her to scream in pain and fall back behind the van. After a few minutes of peace, Selenis considered leaving cover and going to make sure Abi-Maria was dead, hearing Hershel scream for his daughter and attempted to help her, when suddenly another shot rang and a loud thud hit against the RV. Hershel had been shot right in the chest, and had fallen over dead onto the side of the vehicle. Maggie screamed as his dead corpse fell on top of her. Luckily, his body shielded her from further bullets from Abi-Maria. Selenis realized as the gunshot was becoming slightly softer than Abi-Maria was running away, into the woods. Selenis peaked past the rock just in time to see Abi-Maria engulfed by the trees, wearing the backpack they had packed for her, her left shoulder sloppily bandaged and obviously bleeding a lot. She had left the van behind running south, closer to Bunker.

Selenis raised from her position, firing a few parting shots in Abi-Maria's direction, and ran to see what had happened. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen. Around the side of the RV, she was shocked to see two lifeless bodies. "Hershel," Selenis said, her voice quivering. "Maggie…" Selenis dropped to her knees. This was all a huge mistake.

"Help!" a small, muffled voice said underneath Hershel's body. _Maggie's alive!_ Selenis happily thought as she rolled Hershel's body off of Maggie, who was bleeding profusely from the right leg. Selenis helped Maggie to her feet, and they struggled into the RV. Selenis laid her down on the couch. "My daddy," Maggie said. "Please tell me he's still alive. Still breathing. Has a pulse. Answer me, damn it!" Selenis sadly looked away from Maggie, and she began crying violently. "Stop! He's okay! He's going to be okay!" Selenis solemnly stayed quiet, doing her best to disinfect and wrap Maggie's wound. "Get him. Go get him. We need to take him back. Get him help."

"Bury him," Selenis stated. "We'll see what help we can get him, if any, but I don't want you getting your hopes up. He's dead, Maggie. We're going to take him back to bury him."

Maggie lifted her arm and sobbed into it, weeping desperately. Selenis finished treating the wound and stood up. She looked down at Maggie sadly and exited the vehicle, dragging Hershel's lifeless body into the RV, onto the floor in front of the couch Maggie was lying on. Maggie grimly looked down at her father, speaking to him quietly, searching hopelessly for a response.

Selenis wordlessly went to the driver's seat, started up the RV, and drove back to the house.

Not ten minutes later, Selenis spotted a large figure on the side of the road, headed towards the house. It was Gabriel. She pulled over the RV. "What's going on?" Maggie asked as Selenis opened the door to let Gabriel in. He was smiling happily to her, not knowing how darkly things had turned out. He thought that everyone was fine. That no one had died, at least. As he entered, he nearly stepped on Hershel's hand, and he saw the tragedy that had happened to the father and daughter. Selenis went straight back to the driver's seat, remaining silent. Gabriel sat in the passenger seat next to her. He didn't push her to talk. He knew Selenis. When she was ready, or when she needed to, she would speak. They quietly drove back home.

About a mile out, Hershel began to move, and Maggie screamed happily, scaring Selenis, and making her drive off the road, shaking everyone up. Selenis and Gabriel got whiplash, and Maggie had fallen on top of her father and was hugging him gleefully, crying into his chest. She looked up at him with a huge smile to see that he had turned. He was a walker. Maggie's smile flipped. Her world crashed down around her. Not only was her father dead, he was a walker, too. She rolled off of him and pushed him back. He began crawling near her as she bawled, her hands over her head in shock and sorrow. Seeing her dad like this, for such a dumb reason, for a reason that could have just been taken care of some way else, was the worst thing that could happen to her. She though about how alone she was now. As her undead father came closer, she began to give up. She reached out her left hand, giving Hershel what he wanted. If he wanted her to turn so badly, she was going to give her dad one last wish, even if he was no longer truly himself. He chomped down onto her hand, digging into the flesh and bone, blood splattering around, and Maggie screamed in pain.

Then, a deafening bang went off, amplified by the metal on the walls and the enclosed room. Selenis had put down Hershel, and she went to Maggie to checking her. Her hand was a mangled, disgusting mess. "Fuck," Selenis said. She looked back to Gabriel and began to take off her belt and she put it around Maggie's arm.

Gabriel looked at her in shock. "Are we really going to try that?" he said, sounding very panicked.

"I don't think we have much of a choice. Honestly, what have we- what does she have to lose?" Selenis said, her face looking as unsure as Gabriel's. "Get me something we can do this with."

Gabriel got out of his seat and looked through his bag and handed her an ax, coming around to also put the wooden handle of a knife into Maggie's mouth. "Bite down if it hurts, and do your best not to flinch, please. We don't want anything to- well, just don't flinch," Gabriel told Maggie, looking very nervous. He got behind her and held onto her, bracing her for what was to come.

Maggie began to panic, not knowing what they were planning. In an instant, Selenis swung her ax down on Maggie's hand, severing it halfway through the wrist. Maggie screamed hysterically, biting into the wooden handle as Gabriel did his best to hold her and keep her still. Selenis swung once more, hoping to finish off the job, but because of Maggie's panic, her aim was slightly off and it only went a few inches deeper. "Maggie, calm down," she said. Selenis took one final swing, and the hand came off. Gabriel immediately began cleaning up after her, attempting to stop the bleeding. Selenis threw the hand out the window and quickly got back to driving to get Maggie to better help with Patricia.

They drove up into the yard, parking as close to the house as possible, and Selenis quickly ran in to get people outside to help. Gabriel picked up Maggie, using one hand to hold a once-white sheet over her arm, and began to carry her inside. He was met halfway to the door by Seth, Shawn, Patricia, Robert, and Lyrik, led by Selenis. Seth and Shawn took Maggie from Gabriel, and they carried her into the living room and onto the couch. Patricia bent over her and with the help of Robert and Lyrik, they stopped the bleeding and did their best to sew it up as best they could.

Much of the group sat at the kitchen table looking confused at first, creating a familiar scene, but then they realized that it was Maggie and that she had been injured, and they did their best to help, fetching towels and water and other such things for Patricia. "Where's Hershel?!" Patricia asked, swamped.

Selenis was reminded of what had happened, and she grew silent once more. Gabriel whispered to Patricia that he had been killed, and Shawn went outside to the RV to check for him, where he found Hershel dead, blood all over the RV, and a gunshot right through his head. Shawn began crying and clenched his fists. He stormed back into the house and punched Selenis right in the face, Gabriel being too far away, and she fell to her knees. "You killed my father!" Selenis looked up at him in shock, and rose back up, punching Shawn in the face, and they began to wrestle; punching, kicking, and biting. Seth and Gabriel finally managed to break it up and they both had bruises on them. Shawn had a black eye, and Selenis had bruises beginning to form on her cheek, and scratches and more bruises were scattered across their bodies.

"I didn't kill your dad!" Selenis said, spitting at Shawn, who furiously threw another punch in response, and Seth tried to hold him back, but he managed to get Selenis right in the nose. "You motherfucker!" she yelled, and Gabriel and Seth struggled to keep them off of each other as they resisted once more.

"Fucking _stop it!"_ Seth screamed, pushing Shawn into a wall and turning to do the same to Selenis. "Now both of you assholes calm down and explain what happened, _civilly._"

Selenis took a deep breath, and decided to just say it. "We were kicking Abi-Maria out of the group. Me, Gabriel, Hershel, and Maggie went to go leave her in Bunker. But when we told her, she tricked us by looking through the bag of supplies we gave her, saying she needed a rag, but pulling out a gun, shooting Maggie in the leg, and then killing Hershel. She meant to kill all of us, but she got them."

"And why the fuck is that?!" Shawn asked angrily.

"I don't know! To be honest, they didn't make the smartest move. Gabriel ran into the woods, I hid behind a large nearby rock, and they tried to run a good thirty feet to get to the RV."

"_So you're saying it's their fault?!" _Shawn questioned, absolutely furious.

"Would you please take this somewhere else?!" Patricia asked, trying to concentrate and keep Maggie calm.

"Sorry," Selenis said. "I'm just saying that it's my fault. I should have pulled them behind the rock, or helped them more somehow."

"You're damn right it's your fault! Yours, too, Gabriel! Pussying out like that, really? Fuck you both! My dad's dead because of you assholes!"

"I'm sorry," Selenis said.

"Stop that," Seth said. "That could have been anyone, Shawn. It wasn't their fault. It was fuckin' Abi-Maria. Fuck that bitch, not this one."

Hesitant to speak, Lyrik, who was helping with Maggie, asked, "Um, but what happened to Maggie? You said she got shot in the leg, but that's already been doctored. What happened to her arm?"

Selenis grimly turned to her and spoke with solemn seriousness. "When Hershel died, he turned. And he wasn't even bit. We've all seen walkers around that hadn't been bit, right? Well, I think I know why. When you die, no matter how you die, you come back."

Everyone looked on, horrified. Shawn worriedly looked up to Seth, who was still holding him. Seth let go, his mouth open in disbelief. "You're lying, aren't you?" Seth asked.

"You think so? Go look at Hershel's body. Does that just look like death to you? Like he hadn't turned? You know how Maggie lost her hand? Hershel bit it off. And we amputated it to save her."

Shawn looked like he was about to punch her again. "You _amputated _her _arm_? Are you fucking _crazy?!_"

"No," Selenis said. "We've met people who survived like that. In that place we were at, where we escaped from. Some of the people there had survived walker bites through immediate amputation."

"Well, you better fucking hope it works, or I'm going to kill you for both of their deaths," Shawn warned.

Selenis and Gabriel nodded grimly, hoping to whatever gods may be out there that this worked. Not just for their sake, but for everyone's.


	18. Chapter 18: It Worked

**Chapter 18 "It Worked"**

**Days 49 & 50**

It was a cold, foggy day, and it would be an even colder, foggier night. It has been four days since the group lost Hershel, and nearly lost Maggie. From an outsider's perspective, things were looking up for her. She had recovered from her wounds as best as one can in four days, the group has considered branching out to nearby houses, and the garden in the back yard has been extended and new winter crops have been planted just in time for autumn.

The group had an election that morning to elect a new leader after Hershel's death. The three candidates were Seth, Shawn, and Selenis.

Robert, Gabriel, Oscar, and Shakira voted for Selenis, as she had proven to them to be a quick-thinking, capable leader. For the people in Selenis's group, they had been around her a very long time, and trust her with their lives. It was a no-brainer. Robert didn't have nearly as much experience and closeness, but he had just as much faith in her. She had saved Maggie's life, and knew a lot about surviving out there. Though she shut down a little bit under pressure, that flaw was not bigger than Seth and Shawn's to him. Seth was very flippant, which could be funny in conversation, but it wasn't great for leader material. He often acted on impulse, and his ideas changed easily and quickly, like how he went from shooting at Xavier and Sierra to shrugging his shoulders and letting them in without protest, or any uneasiness. Of course, Xavier and Sierra proved to be great people, but there was always the chance that they weren't, and if they had been bad people, Robert would have blamed Seth. Shawn was a hothead, and if something set him off, he could be deadly. Under pressure, he would be an awful person to have to turn to for advice, as his mind was always fogged with rage when something set him off.

Jessie, Xavier, Sierra, and Lyrik voted for Seth as leader. Jessie, just like with Selenis's group, trusted her ex-leader with her life. To her, he was great, and was very capable, though he did brush off her son, but who could blame him? That was in the past now. Ron didn't get to vote, as Jessie thought that Ron didn't need to be reminded of the world outside of these walls anymore than he had to when he was away from her. Xavier and Sierra voted for Seth because they saw his potential, and believed that he would make a great leader if he needed to. Lyrik voted for Seth because she thought he was hot. _Thanks, Lyrik,_ Robert thought sarcastically.

Otis, Patricia, Beth, Maggie, and Amanda voted for Shawn. Otis and Patricia had watched Shawn grow up, and being raised by Hershel, they knew that he could lead the group to greatness. Beth and Maggie had a similar point of view. They knew he had a temper, but when it was necessary, their brother could really help the group out and had a good grasp on how to keep them together. Maggie originally didn't want to vote, but decided to give her opinion since otherwise, it would be a three-way tie. The four believed that he was the only appropriate choice, since he was the son of their previous leader, after all. Amanda voted for him because over the past few weeks, ever since she opened up to him, she had developed a crush on him. She thought he was cute and thoughtful, and that if worst came to worst, he could be their best hope.

If you can't count, or just didn't pay attention, Shawn won by one vote. Everyone congratulated him, some giving him hugs or kisses. Maggie gave him the longest, most heartfelt hug, which surprised Shawn a bit. _What's got her so emotional about this?_ he thought. The whole situation just dug a knife deeper into Maggie, a huge reminder of just how gone Hershel was. His absence was so big that they needed a formal election for someone to fill his role. After kissing her brother once more, she went up to her room.

Selenis was moderately relieved that she didn't have to have all of these people's lives on her shoulders as the leader. Seth, however, was actually very jealous of Shawn, and he thought that he would be a much better leader than young, dumb farm boy ever could be. He was even mad at Amanda for not voting for him. _I've been nothing but a great leader to you_, he thought. _So what if you were like the last person to join me? So what if that whiny bitch you called a friend died? I've always protected you. If you think I can't now that there's more people, you're damn wrong._

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Maggie waited until everyone was beginning to lie down or get ready for bed, right after dinner. She was upstairs in her room that she used to share with her father. His stuff was still littered about the room. She couldn't bare to move anything around, or to let anyone move in with her. Thankfully, no one had asked her to do any of that.<p>

In her hand, she was holding a rope her father used to use around the farm that he kept in the back of the red truck. She was tying it into a noose, which proved to be very difficult using just one hand. She used to practice making ropes into different knots, including a noose, when she was younger. She compared it to how Shawn used to whittle wood with his father. It was like a child in the scouts, learning how to do things that usually wouldn't prove to be very useful, but were definitely interesting to them.

Looking at her missing hand, she thought of her father. She thought of her sister, too. This was the same hand that Beth had lost fingers off of.

"Now we're kinda like twins," Beth had said the day Maggie woke up.

"Sisters wasn't good enough for you?" Maggie had replied jokingly.

She had this plan in mind for a while now, and tonight cemented it. _Everyone else would be fine without me. They have a leader now, and no one would really care too much,_ she thought. _Of course, Beth and Shawn will. But they're family. They have to care. Beth is growing up, becoming strong. She'll understand. She'll move on and be okay… God, I feel so alone. I'm sorry, Daddy._

The night was perfect. Foggy and cold. No one would notice, and they'd have no reason to just be going outside with how cold it was. They wouldn't have to know. Plus, she had said her goodbyes. Sort of. She gave Shawn his congratulations and a kiss. When Ron was playing with Robert and Lyrik, she had told them to take care of themselves, and to look out for each other. She told Beth how much she loved her just a few moments ago. Se wished Otis and Patricia a great marriage and to never lose one another, and thanked them for always being there for her, basically being aunt and uncle to her.

Once the noose was secure, she knew it was time. She grabbed the rope and shoved it down into her pants, hoping it wouldn't look too obvious. She exited her room, and was upset to see Jessie talking in the hall with her son. Clearly, he wasn't ready to go to bed just yet. Maggie smiled to Jessie and made her way downstairs and sighed. _Thank you, Ron,_ she thought to herself.

She made her way downstairs and noticed that Shakira and Oscar were in the living room, talking to each other inaudibly. She pulled back the sliding door slowly and went outside, silently closing the door behind her. She sighed once more, relieved that no one had noticed her go outside. She made her way to the small barn and began to shiver, clutching herself.

The barn was ajar, and she slightly slid it open enough to where she could squeeze through without it being too blatant from the backdoor. She peaked to it, and could barely see anything through it from the fog. She turned back around and peered into the darkness, which was only getting darker as time passed. She looked around for the beam nearest to a hay stack or other thing of easy elevation. One had nothing beneath it, and she would need to stack up many things in order to reach it, which would just waste time. The other had a few too many haystacks underneath it. She took the lesser of two evils and went with the too-high one, doing her best to kick down a few levels of hay. Finally, after what felt like ages, she managed to get enough down to where she could only reach the beam if she raised her arms all the way up.

She pulled the rope out of her pants and noticed that it had slightly burned her leg. _No matter, _she thought, and she tossed the rope over them beam and fastened it as tightly as she could. She stuck her head through and let go. She let go of her pain. Let go of her anguish. Let go of her mourning. Let go of her suffering. Of this cruel world. Of her loneliness. Of this miserable existence she now was forced to call life.

It was painful, the air being forced out of her in such a painful, neck breaking way. She almost regretted it. Almost wanted to take it all back. Almost felt foolish, regretful. But it was too late.

* * *

><p>The next morning, no one could find her. Shawn, being the leader, took charge of the situation. He called the group together for a meeting, and Jessie and Ron mentioned that they last saw her going downstairs, looking a little bit nervous. None of her stuff was missing at first glance, so it could be assumed that she hadn't ran away. Shawn took Seth, Xavier, and Sierra and headed out with them to search the areas she could be at. The river, the road to Bunker, and the edges of the woods. When they returned to the house, the group was back in the living room. If he hadn't seen them get up when he had left, Shawn would have assumed that they had never moved. Many people were in tears.<p>

"What happened?" Shawn asked.

Patricia was hugging Beth, who was bawling. Patricia looked up to Shawn. "She's in the barn," she said darkly. Shawn smiled for a half-second, and Patricia shook her head. She wasn't in there doing chores. "Otis found her when he was going to tend to the garden."

Beth looked to her hand, her missing fingers. At first, she thought it would always remind her of the love she and Maggie had. Of Maggie herself. But now, she feared that it would just haunt her. That it would be an inescapable reminder of the family she had lost.

Shawn wanted to ask what had happened to Maggie, but decided it best that he saw for himself. He took the same group he had left with to the barn, their weapons at the ready. He slowly opened the door and heard a familiar groaning sound. An unhuman, awful noise that only one thing made. He braced himself as he swung the door the rest of the way open. There, Maggie was turned, suspended in the air by a rope, snapping and clawing for him. He needed no more proof that you turn no matter how you die.

Beginning to shed tears, Shawn raised his gun and fired it. Stunned, he missed. "Fuck," he whispered to himself. Xavier stepped forward, ready to put her down in case Shawn couldn't do it. Shawn fired it once more, and got her right in the head. Instantly, she fell lifeless, no longer scratching and clawing at the group, and blood began to trickle down her face through the bullet wound.

Too upset, Shawn left the barn and went inside to his room. He just wanted to be alone now. The other three took down Maggie's body and dragged her out to the area they had arranged for burials. They had a funeral for her immediately, putting her in the ground right next to her father.


	19. Chapter 19: Neighbors

**Chapter 19 "Neighbors"**

**Day 74**

Things had been relatively peaceful since Maggie's departure. Though it was morbid, Maggie's death could be seen as a new door. She and her father demonstrated important information to the group about death. Made them more aware of themselves at night, and gave them better information on how to conduct themselves. They made more plans, and everyone was armed at all times. Even Jessie and Ron, though every chance she got, Jessie took Ron's gun from him and locked both of theirs up in a closet in their room. Jessie didn't believe that she would ever need her gun, and that Ron was much too young to have to be exposed to the horrors of the world. Not anymore. Especially after the things he had gone through. To her, he needed rest. Time to recover. They all did, truly. _Soon,_ she thought, _this world will be set back into place. There will be no more walkers and mindless killing. We'll never get our loved ones back, but we can move on._

Despite a few members of the group saying that the group should not be split up (namely Robert, Xavier, Sierra, Patricia, Selenis, and Gabriel), Shawn declared that the group would be spacing out. "There were other houses in the forest, and we don't have to cram ourselves into this one for the rest of our lives," he said, defending his case. "I really don't want that. Do you?" he asked the whole group. The members who wanted the group together even admitted that not having to share rooms would be nice, but stood firm that it was not wise.

Shawn made Sierra and Xavier come with him, and Amanda and Seth volunteered to help out when they decided to go clearing out houses. They set off on the road leading towards Bunker and went down a dirt road that they didn't notice when they were first searching for a home.

At the end of the road was a pretty small house, much smaller than the one they were in, and they went inside to clear it. Shawn turned the handle of the front door and it immediately fell off at the hinges. He sighed, and led them in. This house was definitely not suitable for people to live in. It seemed to have been abandoned long before the apocalypse and nature was definitely reclaiming it. Windows were broken, there were large holes in the ceiling and walls, grass was beginning to grow between cracks in the wall and the floor, and vines were pushing into the home furiously, bursting through windows as if Medusa were trying to break glass with her head alone. They decided to still check it for supplies, but the best thing they found was a lighter and a few matches that must have been left by some kids who sneaked in to smoke.

Amanda spotted something that obviously wasn't familiar to the other people, as they looked it over, probably assuming it was a weird forest plant. Amanda picked up the marijuana when they left the room and stuffed it into her pocket. She felt slightly guilty, but she was more content than anything. She would finally be getting a little bit of downtime. Some nice, good, familiar distraction from not only the tragedy around her, but also herself.

They left the house with only the matches and lighters, and a few things here and there. This house was a bust. They continued down the road and found another dirt road that led to a large plot of dirt. It was clear that either the house there had been demolished or the land was just being prepared to be built on.

"Yeah, Shawn," Xavier said. "Whole lotta houses around here, huh?"

Shawn rolled his eyes. "Well, the map showed a lot more offshoots, and I was pretty sure they all led to homes. What else'd they be for?"

They continued driving, and eventually made it to the outskirts of Bunker, passing right by the place where the others tried to drop off Abi-Maria. They didn't even realize that this was the place, though. As they passed, they saw nothing where a van once was.

The town seemed to be quite clear, as it was a very small place. As with everywhere, there were plenty of walkers, but there was much less than previous places they had been to, such as Albertville, Palmetto, and Guntersville. They didn't want to actually live in Bunker, though. It was a town, and they were wary of staying in those, especially one as crowded as a town. Not after losing three people in a row in the last town they stayed in. Plus, it was too far away from the house they were staying in for them to comfortably put others inside. However, in order to get to other parts of the forest without driving an RV into a deep river or impossibly weaving it through the thick forest, they had to pass through Bunker to make it to a highway that led around to the western side of the forest.

As they drove, they found three more roads off the side of the highway. One led to a dead end, that only made the people in the RV angry at the waste of gas. Another led to basically another dead end. It was a charred lot, with ruins of a very large house left behind. It had been burned down, which again made them angry. It appeared to be much bigger than the one they were in, and it would have served them well. The other led to a house similar to the other one, but not nearly as overtaken by nature. It didn't have nearly as much plant life growing in it, though some was beginning to sprout. There were no holes or cracks in the building, and it seemed moderately sturdy, along with it having more usable things than the other, similar house, but it was quite small and only one or two people could live in it, so they brushed it off for now. They weren't quite ready for the group to split up into factions as small as that. As they looked through it, in the back room they found two dead bodies propped up on a wall. One was wearing a brown dress, the other shorts and a very stained white shirt. There was very little skin left, and it was mostly just bones. They both had a gun in their hands, and it was clear they had killed themselves, which made Shawn look down at the ground, reminded of Maggie. Seth bent over and took their guns, both fully loaded minus a single bullet.

"You're just going to loot their bodies?" Amanda protested.

"Well, it's not much use to them now, is it?" Seth said factually. "Clearly, they don't need these anymore."

Finally, they found a road that looked quite promising. The road was dirt, but it seemed to be very worn and often used. Thus, it must lead to a house. "There could be people there, though," Xavier said. "The tracks look fresh enough."

"Well, we always welcome new friends, don't we?" Shawn said, slightly sarcastic and bitter about the last group leading to the deaths of his father and sister. No one laughing as he had hoped, he coughed. "Look, if they're any trouble we can handle it. It'll be fine."

"We don't know how many of them there are," Amanda said.

"Can we stop?!" Shawn yelled, getting frustrated. "We don't even know that there _are_ people there, but y'all are talking about this like we're about to face the mafia!"

Everyone in the RV shut their mouth tightly. Xavier and Sierra looked slightly annoyed, while Amanda seemed to feel guilty for causing Shawn to get so angry. She fingered the substance in her pocket. _Maybe he could use some, too,_ she joked to herself, trying to remain calm.

"Like I said," Shawn continued, driving slowly down the road. "If there's trouble, we can handle it. We're pretty much the strongest people in the group," Shawn said, before remembering that they had brought Amanda and he broke a smile. The group took it as him continuing to reassure them, and the tension faded into silence as they moved down the road, keeping their eyes peeled. They stared out of the windows and down the road, looking for signs of other people being around. A turn came up, and around the bend a large building with a red roof could be seen, with a gorgeous, triangle-shaped lake a ways behind it. The road continued past the house, and a building that looked very similar to it could be seen with about five cars in front of it, though most looked like they hadn't been touched in a while, being dusty old models.

Everyone grabbed up their weapons and bags, prepared for walkers, to simply scavenge, or potentially the worst: humans. Shawn parked the RV outside of the first building and everyone got out, guns and knives at the ready. They walked around the perimeter of the house, and Amanda noticed a few curtains shutting. She looked to the group, and they worriedly looked back, clutching their weapons, hoping this wouldn't have to end in a bloodbath.

Shawn didn't notice it, however, and though that Amanda was lying to convince the group to turn back. He rolled his eyes at her. _Pussy,_ he thought about her. They went back to the front of the house and Shawn put his hand on the doorknob and twisted it. Locked. "Of course it is," he thought aloud as he backed up and threw himself against the door.

"Shawn, what are you doing?!" Seth yelled to him, beginning to worry as he raised his gun to the windows, making sure they weren't going to be sniped.

"Getting in," Shawn said, backing up again and running at the door once more. "What does it look like?" he said after another unsuccessful throw.

On his third try, the door flew open before he could connect with it, causing him to fall ungracefully to the floor. He heard a click over his head like a gun being cocked and he scrambled to his feet, his gun raised back at the noise. Dimly lit, he could see that the person holding the gun was in fact a very young teen with long dirty blonde hair who looked ready to pull the trigger at any moment, her gun pointed right at his head. Behind Shawn, another gun could be heard. It was a rifle, and it had been cocked. He looked back quickly to see a tall, thin man in flannel pointing his rifle at the people outside.

"Who the hell are you people and what the fuck do you want?!" he yelled, his voice a mixture of anger and fear. Sierra and Xavier had their guns pointed at the man, while Amanda had her gun pointed at the young girl, ready to take the girl down if she tries to hurt Shawn. Seth kept his gun locked on the windows, making sure there weren't more that would easily snipe them.

Xavier, with a strangely calm voice - as though this was something he'd been through a lot - spoke up. "We thought the house was empty. We're only here to scavenge and make room for the rest of our group." As Xavier spoke, Seth noticed one of the curtains of the windows open, and a man could faintly be seen looking out at them. Before Seth could decide whether or not to shoot, the curtain closed and his chance disappeared.

"The rest of your group?" the boy said as he looked around the woods nervously before he drew himself closer into the shadows of the house.

Then, a loud thudding sound could be heard from deep inside the house. Shawn peeked away from the young girl once more to see a very robust man walking across a platform that the stairs led up to. The fat man was walking towards him down the stairs, his gun pointed between Shawn's eyes. The farm boy gulped. The large man looked very intimidating. He made his way to Shawn and stood beside the girl.

"Lizzie, you know what I told you," he said. Shawn smiled to himself. _Little girl's gonna get told off for not staying in her room,_ he thought. _Serves her right, pointing a gun at my head, small as she is. _"Only aim for the head," the fat man finished, causing everyone in the group other than Xavier and Sierra to look on confused. This man let - taught, even - his daughter to shoot? To use guns at such a young age? They thought he must be a savage, or insane. Xavier and Sierra, however, completely understood, and were even a little bit envious that this stranger got a child that was _willing_ to fight - to help. Ron was just like his mother: incapable of even contemplating violence, and thus, incapable of protecting himself.

Soon after, a black woman and two thin, white young men appeared on the platform. The black woman was a bit pudgy, wearing a grey top and tight brown pants. One of the thin men was shorter, wearing tight black pants and a stained orange shirt. He had moderately long brown hair and freckles lightly sprinkled across his nose and upper cheeks, and appeared to be around Robert and Lyrik's age. The other was taller, with very short brown hair, wearing blue jeans and a loose blue plaid shirt. The black woman and the youngest-looking boy came down the stairs and stood beside the man and his girl. All of them had guns pointed at the group, striking Shawn and the others with fear. The two that had joined the man clicked their guns, and Shawn gulped deeply.

Fearing for his life, the farmboy dropped his gun and raised his hands. "Do it!" he yelled to the others, who angrily sighed, and followed his lead. Their guns were collected and they were brought inside.

The fat man sat them down at a couch, their hands tied up in rags, and he sat across from them in a big, red chair. He spoke to them as though they were criminals. "So, what were you _really_ here for?" he began, looking down the light at them, meeting each one of their eyes. "We know one of you saw us close a curtain, but you still tried to get in."

No one spoke, all of them looking to Shawn, some with anger. Amanda spoke up, not wanting them to hurt or endanger him. She was beginning to care a lot about him, and losing him now would be awful. Not only on her, but the whole group, and Beth. Especially Beth. "I made them do it," Amanda said shakily. "I saw the curtain and I decided that we should come in and loot it anyways. Take you all down."

Everyone looked to her, stunned. Why had she lied? And why would she say something like that? Shawn looked down at the ground in guilt as the large man stood up and began making his way to her. "She's lying," Shawn said. Everyone turned to her. "She did see the curtain move, but I'm the one who forced them to come inside." The fat man raised a brow at him, and opened his mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted by Shawn, who continued to say, "We're here to clear out houses for our group. Spread out."

"Spread out?" the man said. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Might as well just split up and make it official."

"What do you mean?" Amanda spoke up once more.

"What I _mean_," he said pointedly, "is that if you spread out, you might as well just agree to not communicate, travel, or be together in any way from then on. To separate. These are unsure times, and it's not smart to split into groups. A pack could come through, or a group could attack - sorta like y'all did. And then you'd be split up anyways."

Shawn looked to Xavier and Sierra, who were glaring at him with very intense "I told you so" faces.

Suddenly, a woman with very light purple hair and dark brown roots who made Xavier's eyes go wide came down the stairs, chasing after a short blonde girl in a brown dress who was in tears, crying "Daddy!" She ran to the man, and hugged onto him. "I didn't hear anything, so I thought they got you."

"Kelly! How could you let her get out like this?!" the man yelled, furious.

"I'm sorry, Ryan - sir, I mean. I just, she said she was going to go to the bathroom, and I didn't realize she was running off until I heard her feet banging off across the floor."

Ryan sighed, and looked down the young girl. "Mika, do you not get how dangerous this could have been? You aren't even armed. What was the plan here?"

"I'm sorry, daddy. I just thought that maybe they'd stop if I asked nice enough."

Ryan sighed and looked back to Shawn and his people. Now that they all seemed to be aware of their mistakes, the man looked at them. "Well," he said, "what should I do with you? You didn't hurt any of my people, though you did point two guns at my daughter."

"To be fair," Seth said, "she pointed a gun at us, too. We were only backing up our friend, covering our bases."

"Smart," the man replied. "But dumb. 'It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt,'" Ryan quoted from Mark Twain. _Funny,_ he thought, _that of all the place I wind up and of all the quotes I remember, it's of this guy. Must be fate. Fuck you, fate._ "Don't speak up like that.. uh? What's your name?"

"What's _yours_?" Shawn gritted his teeth, furious about the quote Ryan had used against him.

"Ryan Samuels. Now tell me yours. All of you."

They went down the line, introducing themselves. Then, returning the motion, Ryan's people introduced themselves. The thin boy who was originally at the door's name was Allan, the black woman's name was Patti, the girl who pointed her gun at Shawn is named Lizzie, the other girl's name is Mika, and the two are sisters. The woman who came down the stairs with Mika is in named Kelly, and the other two thin boys are Daniel and Greyson, Greyson being the younger of the two who had freckles and walked down the stairs with Patti.

The whole time everyone was speaking, Xavier was unable to take his eyes off of Kelly, admiring every little feature of her. Her stance, her attitude, her appearance. She was like perfection to him. Kelly and Sierra both took notice of this. When Kelly noticed, he quickly turned his eyes away, shy and afraid. But she returned the stare, and they smiled. Sierra noticed the contact between the two, and felt a strange mix of jealousy and grief. She was sad that she and Xavier would likely never be together again, but she was relieved that she could move on with her life. That Xavier wasn't crazily attached to her anymore. They could all move on.

"So, what's going to happen from here?" Shawn asked.

Ryan smiled. "Now you get it. Kinda. You still spoke out of turn, but you know I'm the one in charge here." Shawn glared at Ryan for a split second, moderately angry about being talked down to like that. "Well, me and some of my people are going to go back to your place to check it out. From there, we're going to live together at whoever's place is the biggest. Don't want us splitting up now, do ya'? We'd be settin' you loose to regroup and come back and do whatever you want to my people, and we can't have that."

Shawn looked to the others, moderately angry, and was met only with shrugs. Xavier normally would be angry as well, but he was too interested in Kelly to object. Sierra didn't want to ruin that. Seth didn't care either way. Amanda wanted to feel angry for Shawn, but like Seth, she didn't care.

After a little bit of indecision of whether or not to bring the leader, Ryan took Shawn and Xavier with himself, Patti, and Daniel back to the house, much to Xavier's disappointment. He didn't know what it was, but he was passionately, scarily attracted to her, and he didn't want that at all. Not in this scenario, tied up as hostages. Not even in this world, where death lies around every turn. Everyone else would stay to watch over Seth, Amanda, and Sierra. Ryan kept them all tied up still as he led Shawn and Xavier to the black car they would be taking.

They arrived back at the house within a few minutes and were met with Robert, Selenis, Gabriel, Beth, and Otis standing along the house, pointing their guns to the unfamiliar car. When Shawn was pushed forcefully out of the car with a gun to his back by Daniel, Beth and Otis instantly put their guns down. "Don't shoot!" he yelled desperately, and the same was done to Xavier by Patti. The five at the porch looked among themselves and lowered their guns.

Ryan stepped out of the driver's seat with his hands up as a show of good will. "Your friends are perfectly fine. There is nothing to worry about. They haven't been hurt. The other three are with the rest of my people - surprisingly close to here."

"He's not lying," Shawn said.

"Jesus, Shawn, have you learned nothing?" the fat man said, irritation punctuating his words thickly. "Let 'em loose," he said.

Patti and Daniel swiftly swung knives down onto the ropes binding Xavier and Shawn's hands, startling them greatly. Shawn jumped, afraid his hands might have been cut off, while Xavier merely cringed and held his hands to his face when he was sure they were fine.

Ryan led them to the house, and they examined the place. It seemed fine for a group as small as theirs. However, it wouldn't do to move in eight more people. "It's settled," he said, not having to look around much. "You all have a new home!"

Beth looked worriedly to Shawn, just as others did among the nearest people. Shawn grimly nodded his head. "So, we have to leave?" Shawn questioned, and his voice began to fill with anger once more. "We can't stay here? My family is buried here! We have crops outside! When do you expect us to leave? Now?! We need to get everything, and you made us leave our strongest man behind!"

The large leader was simply smiling in response. "You really are just a little stick of southern dynamite, aren't you? I thought I told you all of this before we left. Either we all move into the biggest house, which is clearly ours, or we have to execute you all. Take it or leave it."

Shawn was greatly tempted to risk fighting for this house. There was only three of them, and they could totally take them on. In fact, they were almost guaranteed to win. But the problem was, as experienced with previous shootouts, people could die. People _would_ die. And there's no telling who could go. Even if a good number of them survived - even if just the strongest did, they would still have to go back and rescue Amanda, Seth, and Sierra. That would be another, much more dangerous shootout - and on top of it, they had disposable hostages. The risk was too big, so Shawn turned to his people. "Pack your things. It's this or death."

Ryan smiled greedily. He had won. He and his people helped the others pack, and they made their way back to Ryan's house, taking everything they could with them. The majority left in the RVs while Patti drove the car they had brought here back.


	20. Chapter 20: Bikers

**Chapter 20 "Bikers"**

**Day 85**

Just as all the past new groups that had meshed together with the other, they had grown together. This new group, just like Seth's had, had new information and tips to share on surviving and living long-term. When this first began, Daniel learned how to open cans without needing a can opener. All you had to do was put the top part against the concrete and rub it until it softens enough that you can simply squeeze the can to pop the top off. Patti knew a lot about herbs and natural ailments found through plants, and she passed on some of her knowledge to anyone that wanted to know it; mainly the medics like Patricia, Lyrik, and Jessie.

They had began to get used to each other, and to bond. Xavier and Kelly, especially. Nothing has happened yet, but there have been many tense moments and a lot of flirting between them. They were both very attracted to one another, and Sierra had felt a freedom she hadn't experienced in a long time.

More great feelings of attraction were brewing among many others, as well, but they weren't as successful. Ryan found Beth and Sierra very pretty, and made a few flirtatious comments, but they both denied him quickly. He even tried Patricia before he found out she was married to Otis, which caused him to blush furiously before running back downstairs, looking like a complete fool. Though she didn't feel the same, Patricia was very flattered.

Ron had a crush on Mika, and once she even let him hold her hand. Mika was about two years older than him, and she saw him as a baby compared to her, but she let him continue to flatter her.

Jessie found Ryan to be quite handsome, and thought he could be great husband material, but she kept those feelings to herself. There was no use in being so up-front with him just yet. He could be anybody.

Patti was into Seth, but like Jessie, she kept it to herself. Her reason, though, was more based on her insecurity, to be honest. _Why would a huge, muscular sex god like him like a short little fat old lady like me? He may not even like dark meat._

Robert became extremely attracted to Greyson and Daniel, and he constantly flirted with the two. Daniel occasionally flirted back, and revealed that he, too, is gay, but asked that Robert keep it quiet. Daniel wouldn't date Robert, though. Robert had hinted at it often and even asked a few times, but Daniel always turned him down. Daniel wanted to be looked up to by the stronger survivors. He wanted to be seen as an equal. He believed that if they discovered he was gay, he would be looked down upon, even though Robert was seen as valuable by many of the other survivors. To Daniel, they simply pitied Robert. He didn't want to be pitied. With Greyson, Robert had little luck, as well, as Greyson constantly pushed himself away and protested. He would sometimes even say to Robert that he was straight, but something about the way he said it, his actions, seemed like he was lying and, like Daniel, was insecure. Robert was beginning to grow desperate for attention, and tonight, he was going to make a move.

He would be going on a run soon with a few other survivors, so he had to act fast. An hour before Ryan and Shawn announced that they would be leaving, Robert sat in the living room, patiently awaiting the moment that Daniel would be alone. He was currently in his bedroom slightly down the hallway from the living room with Lyrik and Beth, who were also apparently in on his secret, talking about who-knows-what. Robert didn't care about that right now. Instead of the two leaving, Daniel instead came out, which surprised Robert a little as he pretended to read a book on the couch. Daniel still had a smile on his face, obviously having fun with the two girls. He headed for the bathroom on the opposite end of the hall, closer to the living room where Robert was sitting. As he entered, Robert quickly raised from his seat and pushed the door open as Daniel turned around to close it. Daniel raised an eyebrow and dropped his jaw slightly in confusion and shock. "What-"

"So you won't be with me," Robert stated. "But will you _be_ with me?" he said suggestively.

Daniel widened his eyes at Robert speaking so openly, with others likely nearby. He swiftly grabbed Robert by the arm and pulled him into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. "Look, I don't know what you're playing at, but-" Daniel's words were cut off as Robert pressed his lips against the man's. Robert kissed Daniel and opened his mouth, tonguing the other boy's lips, asking for entrance. Daniel's eyes were wide open, and the sensation was enough to drive him crazy.

Robert pulled out of the kiss just as Daniel was about to succumb. "Look, you and I both need this. You know it, I know it. So let's just get to it." Daniel looked to the floor, conflicted. He looked back up to Robert after a moment, and he smiled. They started kissing once more and Daniel turned on the shower. The house miraculously still ran water, though there was no heat to it, which was going to be awful as winter approached. They began to strip one another's clothes and slowly entered the water, where they would continue.

* * *

><p>An hour later, right on time, it was time for the run. Robert, who seemed to have a new glow about him, was the first one ready, and he reported to Ryan and Shawn, who were waiting in the car that was used to check out the old house.<p>

"Someone looks happy," Shawn commented, smiling to Robert.

"Maybe I just got used to the whole apocalypse thing," he replied.

"Uh-huh, sure," Shawn said, looking cheekily at the younger boy through the rear-view mirror. "Greyson finally give you some head?"

Robert coughed awkwardly, trying to change the subject. "So, who all's going?" Robert asked.

"Well, uh," Ryan began, glad the subject was changing, and taking a moment to think. "There's us three, Patti, and I think Greyson? Right?"

Shawn nodded, smiling deviously to Robert in the mirror again. "Yeah, Greyson."

Robert frowned to himself slightly. Though he was quite sure he now had it on lock with Daniel, he cared for Greyson much more. Robert knew how damaged Daniel was, and he wasn't sure he could take that kind of baggage. That kind of secrecy, all because of the gender roles Daniel still believed in, even though things had changed so much. The world around them was in no way what it used to be, but people still clung to their old morals like desperate housewives who still followed their abusive husbands despite all of the pain they put them through, simply for the joy that they once had with them. Or the happiness and kindness that was only shared with them in rare, small moments. It was sad.

Within the next ten minutes, the two had joined them and they made their way northwest. Today, they were scouting out an area they were planning to make an even bigger run to later. In about five days, maybe. For now, they just needed to make sure that the place was generally safe and clear. They were about a mile out from the city, where they learned its name was Salem. They parked the car on the highway going and disguised the car into the woods, camouflaging its usefulness. They were going to rummage through other cars and slowly make their way into the town to scan for other signs of life and survival.

After about thirty minutes of walking and stopping to loot cars, they had gotten a pretty good bit of supplies. They had found a car seat obviously for a baby that completely empty, but a bag was left next to it and it was filled with baby formula and diapers. "You never know," Ryan said, and Shawn grunted. Someone getting pregnant could be disastrous.

Shawn naturally led the group, walking a few paces ahead of them and giving them orders as well as taking out walkers ahead of the group, but Ryan was trying to change that. Ryan had never been anything but the leader since this began, and he wasn't going to change that now. He wasn't used to following, and he didn't like it, so he would constantly jog a little bit to catch up to Shawn, and any time Shawn got distracted by something or took too long or stopped to talk, Ryan would take his place leading the group farther down the highway.

Suddenly a loud rumbling could be heard quickly approaching as the were nearing an intersection on the highway. Ryan turned to the people behind him and whisper-yelled, "Hide!"

They all scattered. Robert and Greyson hid inside of a car they were searching, pressing themselves into the floorboard and pulling things on top of themselves, hiding in the cramped space. Patti ducked for the woods, finding a nice place behind a large rock. Ryan and Shawn were in a pretty open place, and they ran back towards where everyone else was. Shawn, being closer and much quicker, made it behind a tipped-over van. Ryan was running as fast as he could to get there as well, but the noise was only getting louder. It was clearly recognized to be motorcycles. Just as the leader of the biker gang made it onto the highway where the group was, Ryan made it behind the van just in time. Until he slipped and his foot skidded into view just as the leader of the biker gang turned onto the highway.

The leader was a very buff man with a black mohawk that was peppered with grey hair, and his face was neatly groomed into a perfect mustache. They obviously had a base.

He smiled to himself, noticing the tripping foot, and slowed to a stop, putting his hand up as his people followed in behind him, stopping as well. There was about twenty of them, all on their own bikes, looking menacing and tough, with scars and tattoos and beards and very large weapons. Everyone held their breath hearing the engines stop, getting their weapons ready, aside from Robert and Greyson, who could only place their hands on the general area of their weapons. They had made a bad call hiding there.

"Eddy, Hunter," the leader said to the two men nearest him. One was very thin and was wearing a black helmet with matching leather suit, his entire appearance invisible. The other was a slightly larger man, wearing a similar helmet, but not the suit. He was wearing a leather jacket and had a large beer gut with grey hairs all over it. "Get ready. Eddy, get the sniper."

The man with the beer gut then stepped back to his bike and unloaded a large sniper rifle off of it, aiming it for where Ryan's foot was.

"Fuck," Ryan said as Shawn looked angrily at him.

"This is all your fault!" the farmer boy yelled. "Trying to act like a leader, but then you can't even run back to the group. On top of that, you go and trip like some kinda Mary!"

Ryan narrowed his eyes at the younger man, growing furious. "How dare you," he said with a horrifying calmness. "You come to my home, attack my p-"

A loud string of bullets began attacking the van they were behind, and the two snapped to their senses, pressing themselves low on the ground against the van, their guns prepared. "I know you're back there," a voice said, halting the bullets. "Come out and we'll let you go. Stay back there and we'll have no choice but to open fire."

Ryan looked to Shawn, asking silently for advice, but the farm boy looked just as conflicted. _Dad would raise his hands. Surrender. Maybe they're good people. Fuckin' scary, but it wouldn't be the first time another group has been misunderstood,_ he said, thinking of Xavier and Sierra and the shootout they had. _But Seth wouldn't. Selenis wouldn't. Xavier and Sierra wouldn't. There's too much risk in surrendering… But we have others! Patti, and Robert and Greyson. They'll back us up._ Shawn looked to Ryan and nodded his head. They would surrender, and if anything went wrong, they had secret allies. _There can't be that many bikers, can there?_

Shawn and Ryan began to walk around the van, and the moment Ryan's arm was visible coming out from cover, it was shot at, and a bullet passed right through the side of it. He drew his arm back in agony, and the gunfire commenced. Shawn began shooting back, and the biker gang didn't let up, following their sniper Eddy's lead.

Patti could see Ryan and Shawn from where she was, and Ryan was struggling to get himself bandaged. They had hurt her leader, and she wasn't going to forgive them. She drew her gun and began firing, killing three bikers and injuring two before they even realized where the shots were coming from. "Damn it, they took down James!" the leader yelled, as they began to shoot in both directions. Taking her off guard, a walker came up behind Patti as she fired at the gang. She heard it moaning, and turned around and took it down just as she realized more were coming. She had nowhere to run that was in good cover, so she threw caution to the wind and ran for the car Robert and Greyson were hiding in. She stuck low, trying to do her best with the little cover between her rock in the woods and the car, and she made it in a place where she was sure walkers couldn't easily see her, but she know Shawn and Ryan were still in the open for the walkers, and there was very little luck for them to get to cover without further injury.

Out of the woods came a large mass of walkers, all drawn to the sound of gunfire. The thin man in leather, whose name was apparently Hunter, was the first to notice. "Darrell, we have to go," he yelled to the leader.

"Goddamn it," the leader screamed furiously, unleashing another string of rapid bullets from his machine gun to the general area everyone was hiding in. Behind him, his people collected what supplies they could from their fallen friends, loaded up their bikes, and headed out, back in the direction they were headed before they turned onto the highway. Darrell was the last to leave, as he fired a few final bullets at vulnerable spots in the cover he thought Patti was still behind.

When Patti was sure they were gone, she looked over to see the walkers were getting very close to Ryan, whose wound was now being tended to by Shawn, attempting to get him help before they ran. She shoved herself into the drivers seat of the car she was in, yelled to the back seat, "They're gone, we have to go! Get up, now!" and began trying to start the vehicle as Robert and Greyson pushed the blankets and other objects off of themselves, looking disheveled as they dragged themselves out of the cramped space, attempting to bring feeling back to limbs that had fallen asleep a short while ago. "Hurry and get those two fools!" Patti shouted.

Robert looked up and realized what was going on, seeing the herd coming and Ryan injured. He got out of the car, Greyson hurrying quickly behind, running to help Shawn and Ryan. Shawn and Robert helped Ryan to his feet as Greyson grabbed up what few of their dropped supplies he could before the herd got near, forced to leave some behind.

They made it into the car and drove it the only way they could: into town. They decided to hide out in a house in Salem far from the highway for a few hours until they were certain the herd had passed. "So, those guys," Greyson said, referring to the bikers. "You don't think they're from around here do you? Or that we might see them again? Have to run?"

"No," Patti said, being the one to speak up.

Ryan, trying to seem in charge, continued for her. "They were coming from the west, headed east. We were coming from the southeast headed northwest. Unless they're well-stocked for wandering bikers, their base is in one of those two directions. They don't live here, I don't think."

"I'd be surprised if they do," Patti added. "An' there's nothing to worry about," she said, looking to Robert and Shawn. "They didn't head towards our people. I think they're okay."

They loaded back up in the car an hour later, just to be sure, and they headed back south towards home. They found more supplies they had dropped because of the attack, including the baby bag. Father down, they found their original car and they took both vehicles back home with them.

* * *

><p>While all of this was happening, back at the house Amanda had finally found some peace and quiet. She had been waiting almost two weeks to finally make use of the stash she had found, but was always too occupied. This time, the group was doing just fine. All of the work and chores were done, and the kids were napping. It was time to relax. To finally light up and forget about her worries for the first time since this started. For the first time in years. Even if it was just for a few moments, it would be worth it.<p>

She stuffed the green substance into her pocket along with her lighter and a piece of paper she stole from the kids' coloring book and made her way outside, claiming she was going to get fresh air when questioned by Shakira. She went to a spot she had found a few days ago when taking down a stray walker. It was a spot close to the lake, underneath a large yellow tulip tree, out of sight unless one were to be looking from in the lake or from a perfect angle in the woods. It was better when she first found it, but now leaves were beginning to fall, and the spot was more visible thanks to the thinning of cover. It was still the best spot she had found, though.

She sat down and pulled the paper out, followed by the weed. She rolled the paper up around the marijuana with ease, remembering the way to do it from ages ago. Once she decided it was just right, she pulled out her lighter, lit the loose end, and put the other in her mouth, inhaling deeply. "Ahhhhh," she breathed out happily. The familiar scent encapsulated her, and brought back fond memories of getting high with her friends. She began thinking of when things took a turn for the worse with her addiction, and of Erin crying as Amanda lied on the ground, half-conscious, laughing about a hallucination. She took another hit.

"Amanda," a familiar voice said, startling the woman, and she quickly hid the joint behind her back. It was Beth, and she looked very disappointed. "I thought you were done with that," she said, her voice not masking her feelings of betrayal at all.

Amanda opened her mouth to respond, forgetting momentarily about the smoke in it. A cloud of stench rushed to Beth, and she coughed. Amanda sadly looked up as Beth, who now looked annoyed. "I'm sorry," she said. "It's just… I found it in a house we were going through a while back. This is all I have, it was only a one-time thing."

Beth half-frowned, looking down at the bottle-blonde. Amanda's roots were now showing a lot. At least an inch or two of brown had grown back. "Do you promise?" she asked.

"I do, Bethy. I'm sorry. I really am. I promise."

Beth nodded, awkwardly. Though she had just lectured Amanda on it, she badly wanted to try some herself. "Um," she muttered, then looked back to the house.

A smile crept across Amanda's face, but she did her best to hide it. _Teenagers,_ she thought. "You want a drag?"

"No," she said hesitantly and looked back down to Amanda, and then to her own hand. Maybe it could help with the pain. Losing a few fingers doesn't always make your hand feel that great, and right now it hurt quite a bit. Plus, she had always wanted to try weed.

"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company," Amanda said, holding out the weed.

Beth nodded hesitantly, and flashed a smile at the older woman when she was handed the joint. Beth sat down next to Amanda and did as she was told. To breathe in deep, and to hold it in for as long as she could. Predictably, Beth wasn't that great at it and coughed it up almost as soon as it went in, causing Amanda to laugh.

They continued to share it, and they sat there for a few moments, both feeling quite buzzed. Beth turned to Amanda, a dopey smile across her face. She inched closer, and Amanda took notice with an inquisitive visage. Then, Beth reached out for Amanda and kissed her, sloppily kissing with tongue. Amanda, though shocked, returned the kiss. It lasted for a little bit too long, and Amanda reached for Beth's hand but accidentally touched her injury, and they pulled away, and couldn't look at each other afterward. They remained there, silent. Their buzz began to wear off. "I'm sorry," Beth finally said.

"I," Amanda began. "Uh. It's okay. I'm sorry, too. Did I hurt you?"

"No. It's just that, well. That was my first kiss."

Amanda looked to the younger girl with faint surprise. "You kissed Jimmy, didn't you?"

"You were my first _actual_ kiss," she clarified. "With tongue."

"I see," Amanda stated. The mood was tense. "So, do you… Do you want me to be your girlfriend or something?"

Beth's eyes grew large, and she blushed. "Uh," she began, trying to carefully choose her words. "Not.. really. I was hopin' that would be just a one-time thing. I thought maybe, but I realized during it that I didn't like it. I'm sorry."

"No, don't be," Amanda said, half-laughing. "I'm glad, actually." There was a pause, and then Amanda realized how her words could be interpreted. "No, wait, I don't mean it like that. You're great and all, I just. Y'know. I'm straight. Plus, I'm more-" she stopped herself, shrugging it off.

"More what?"

"Nothing. I don't know."

"Yeah, you do," Beth said, and began poking at her ribs.

Amanda laughed at the tickling. "Alright, alright. I'm, um. I'm more into your brother."

Beth smiled. "Really?" Amanda put her face in her lap, feeling her face turn bright red. Beth giggled gleefully. "You two would be so cute together," she squealed.

Amanda looked to Beth, her face red as a tomato. "You think so?"

Beth laughed, holding her stomach with her injured hand. "Well, yeah."

"I don't know." Amanda began playing with this grass, unable to stop smiling and blushing. "I don't think he even likes me like that."

"Oh, come on. He doesn't even know _you_ like him like that, does he? You should talk to him sometime. When he comes back, maybe."

"Maybe."

They continued talking about Shawn, and then off about other things, such as the crops, and what could be taking the group that was on the run so long. Selenis found them a while later, and they held a meeting to decide whether or not to send out someone to search for them before the sun went down, but thankfully they arrived in the middle of the meeting. They let the group know that the town seemed to be worth it to check out, and that they should go within the next few days. Then, they shared the story of their encounter, and many of the group became worried. It reminded some of them of the group that attacked the farm, and they thought that the same thing could happen if they are found.


	21. Chapter 21: You'll See

**Chapter 21 "You'll See"**

**Day 89**

Today was a break day. The previous days had been about plowing and tilling the land. Researching winter crops. Searching for more nearby houses to loot. Securing the house they were in. More weapons training. Mentoring and tutoring. School. Today was Tuesday by the calendar Patricia had kept, but they felt they had worked hard enough to earn themselves another lazy day, which was usually on Saturdays.

It was about 10 A.M., much later than the group usually slept in, but the majority of the group was upstairs, fast asleep. Jessie, however, was awake, thanks to Ron. Ron was like a little alarm clock. He would always wake up right at 6 A.M., even though they usually let the kids sleep in as long as they wanted. Lizzie was awake, as well, unable to sleep, and Jessie decided to take the two outside to the lake to play. Jessie had brought a towel to lay on, and she read her favorite romance novel, _Sense and Sensibility_, letting the children play in the water on the warm autumn day.

Otis was on watch that morning, but since Jessie had come out with Lizzie, he entrusted them to keep an eye out and stay safe so that he could sleep. He mostly trusted Lizzie to be the one alert, as she was good with her gun and Jessie and Ron were afraid to use weapons of any kind.

The two children were in their bathing suits, playing happily, enjoying the last taste of summer they are likely to have for a long time. As they were playing, a walker came out of the woods, frightening Ron. The scared boy hid behind Lizzie and pointed at it past her. "It's one of _them_," he said, his voice shaking. "Shoot it!"

Lizzie looked to it and smiled. The walker was wearing a sunday dress, like her mom used to wear to church. "She just wants to play," Lizzie told Ron, who stared at her curiously. "Watch." Lizzie trudged out of the water and began jumping around the walker like an excited puppy. "Can't catch me," she said, running back towards Ron.

Ron began crying, and Jessie looked up over the top of her book as Lizzie ran into the water towards Ron. Jessie dropped her book and ran to them, thinking they were in trouble. "Shoot it, Lizzie!" she yelled.

At Jessie's words, Lizzie froze. "What?" she yelled, unable to hear what the mother had said.

"Shoot it!"

Lizzie turned around to see that the walker was catching up to them and she screamed playfully. "You almost got me!"

Ron sat down in the water, crying even harder. He was afraid, and this felt wrong.

Jessie made it into the water, her dress instantly soaking as she made her way to Ron and she picked him up. Jessie took the gun out of Lizzie's pocket and shot the walker.

Lizzie looked at the dead roamer, stunned. Sorrow swept across her face, and she felt around her pockets. She found her knife, and quickly turned around and stabbed Jessie in the leg, causing her to fall. "You killed her! You killed my friend! How could you?! What if I killed you? What if I killed you?! It's the same thing!"

Jessie had dropped Ron, who was now in the water, frozen, witnessing this horrifying thing. Lizzie, filled with rage, made another slash at Jessie. "Run, Ron!" The boy sat there in fear, soaking and upset.

Then, Lizzie made a fatal slash, slicing open Jessie's neck as she attempted to scream for Ron to run again but he remained frozen in fear as her yell became a sick, bloody gurgle. The teen turned to him, and time seemed to slow down. The life oozed out of Jessie, her blood mixing in with the water like food dye. "Do you wanna be one of them too?" Lizzie asked after a while. The boy was bawling, and could only fearfully stare back at the older girl. "No, shhh, don't cry. Don't worry. She'll come back. It only hurts for a second, and then you come right back. You'll see."

The boy looked up at her, his eyes filled with despair, and he looked down to his mother, bleeding out with a terrified expression on her face. "Mommy's okay?"

"Of course she is. I didn't hurt the brain. She's going to wake up in a little while, and you can both be the same if you want. Maybe I will be, too," Lizzie grinned, thinking to herself.

The boy's tears slowed, and he hesitantly nodded. "I wanna be like mommy."

She smiled, said "Okay," and slit into the boy's forearm. He began to bawl again, loudly and harshly, piercing both of their ears and making a flock of birds fly out of the nearby trees. As he fell over, Lizzie smiled. Soon he would see exactly what she meant. And then her dad would see, too. Her dad would finally see what she had been telling him all this time. In fact, she could show him personally. She smiled even wider at the thought. She looked down at the knife in her hand, and had a heavy urge to ram it into her neck. Then, Jessie began to rise from the water, and she bounced with joy. She began playing with Jessie, running around the lake and playing chase, waiting for Ron to 'wake up' as well. Finally, after a while, Ron awoke and they began to play together, too. "Guys, I have to go show you to my dad," she said, trying to get them to stop playing.

A while later, Lizzie still running gleefully around the lake from the undead family, Ryan walked outside for fresh air when he saw Lizzie being chased in the distance. He smiled, thinking that Jessie and Ron were alive and that they were playing chase. As he walked closer, however, he noticed that they were turned, shambling about unskillfully. "Lizzie!" he shouted, and she slipped, falling onto her face in shock. Her dad had taken her off guard. "Lizzie, get up and run!" he screamed. "This isn't a joke anymore, _get the fuck out of there!"_

Lizzie, still lying on the ground, pouted at her dad. "You just don't get it, do you? We're play-" then, Jessie ripped into her arm, tearing of muscle and revealing bone, holding down Lizzie. Jessie and Ron had gotten down to Lizzie's level when she wasn't paying attention, and they were now taking full advantage of it. Undead Ron followed his walker mother's lead, and ate right into Lizzie's other arm, and Ryan began to run around the lake to get to his baby girl, reaching desperately into his pockets to get his gun. Before he could get it out, though, Lizzie had reached the no-hope zone as Ron tore into the teen's shoulder blade. Lizzie was now unconscious and Ryan was in tears. He finally reached his gun when he took a moment to stop, still a ways from the three. He choked on the tears and snot, doing his best to remain composed. He raised his gun and shot Jessie and Ron down, and slowly, mournfully, walked to his daughter, now nothing more than a mass of wet redness, blood all over the grass and staining every fabric of her clothes, bones poking out every here and there. There was no hope. He raised his gun just as one of Lizzie's fingers began to twitch, as she was reanimating. He couldn't bare to see her like that, let alone like this.

The majority of the group rushed out, weapons ready, investigating the gunshots underdressed in just underwear or in pajamas or a robe. When they saw what had happened, Ryan on his knees crying at the sight, Beth went to Mika who was just coming out and she shielded her eyes, leading the child back inside. This, of all things, was something she didn't need to see. Ryan entered an hour later, and had apparently already buried the three without us knowing, as he was covered in dirt and mud and blood. "I'm not going on that run tomorrow," he said stoically and retreated to his bedroom.


	22. Chapter 22: Garden

**Chapter 22 "Garden"**

**Day 90; Group A**

The next day was a solemn one. There was very little joy, let alone even talking. Mika was distraught, confused why her dad was locking himself up and so sad, and wondering what had happened to Lizzie. She was no fool, and she knew that Lizzie had died. They would have told her something if she hadn't. Of course, it was very upsetting to think about, but it was so surreal. She didn't see Lizzie at all that day, and then to suddenly find that she had passed seemed like it wasn't happening.

Early that morning, Beth and Mika were sitting on the couch in the living room, and Beth was reading a story to the younger girl, hoping she would get some more sleep. Mika was wrapped around her right arm, looking on at the book sitting on Beth's lap, using her still-bandaged left hand to turn it. "And the princess looked to the kingdom, who shouted happily seeing her. 'I have returned,' she said to the masses, 'and I am here to stay. I vow' — that means promise," she said to Mika, "'to never leave again. And they lived happily ever after, the princess safely back home thanks to the bravery of her knights. The end.'" Beth closed the book and kissed Mika's head tenderly. "Still not tired?"

Mika shook her head at Beth, the smile she had from the book fading. They remained silent for a few moments as Beth held Mika close, her own eyes getting heavy as she cooed at the girl calmingly. "Beth, what happened to my dad?" Mika asked the older blonde girl, who had been with her all day. Beth knew what it was like to lose a sister, and she didn't want Mika to go through what she did.

"Well, he's just," she paused, considering. "He's had a really bad day, and he just wants to sleep." Beth was slightly horrified. There were so many similarities between herself and Mika and their fathers that she was just beginning to see.

"I know why he had a bad day. You don't have to keep hiding it from me."

"What?"

"Lizzie," she said, cuddling deeper into Beth's arms. "I know that she's.. gone."

Beth frowned at the innocent girl. "I know, cupcake. You're a smart girl. Your dad's just not taking it well. But we can't be mad at him for that. And you shouldn't feel guilty if you don't get upset as he is. Over anything. As long as you love and respect them, they'll know you miss them."

Mika smiled. "You know everything, Beth."

"No, I don't," Beth said, looking up to Ryan's room.

"Well, you know how to be nice. How do you know all of that?"

Beth met the girl's eyes. "My daddy always used to tell me, 'Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.' You just have to always do your best to be nice. You've heard 'if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all,' haven't you?"

Mika nodded. "That's what my mommy told me when I was little." She looked to the ground. "I miss Mommy. And Lizzie."

"I know, sweetie, I know. It's hard to lose people you love."

"Have you lost anyone?"

"I have. My mom, my daddy. My cousin. And my sister, too."

"Were you sad?"

"Every time. I think I was the saddest about my sister. I hated losing all of them, though. But she was just so.. selfish."

"Selfish? Did she not share?"

"No, no. Not like that. She uh," Beth said, beginning to regret talking about Maggie, "well, to be honest, she killed herself."

"Oh," Mika said, looking sadly to Beth, and she kissed Beth's cheek, who looked like she was about to cry. "It's okay."

"It is." Beth wiped a tear away and smiled to the young girl. "The scary thing is… I was thinkin' about doin' the same thing. When momma died, I wanted to do it, but Maggie and daddy were there for me. They didn't know how I felt, but they made me feel better. Then when daddy died, I was really considering it. Shawn thought I wanted to do it. He wasn't wrong, but I didn't let him know. He helped me. Then, a few days after Daddy died, Maggie did it. It made everyone so upset. Even me. I saw how much it hurt everyone, even those who didn't love her as much as some of us did. It helped me see how selfish I had been. I felt so stupid."

Mika sat there, taking it all in. She looked to Beth, seeing the strength in her. "But you're okay now. You're stronger, and smarter."

"That's right," the Greene said, smiling warmly with tears in her eyes to Mika. "I am."

* * *

><p>Hours later, after they both got some sleep on the couch together, it was time for everyone to start working. Because of Ryan's mourning, and it being so soon after a big loss in people, the group considered postponing the run, which was scheduled for this day, but Shawn took full advantage of Ryan being upset, and they headed out without him. He, Selenis, Robert, Greyson, Seth, and Daniel went early that morning in the RV that was in the best condition, which used to be Xavier's. They were waved off by Beth, Mika, Amanda, Gabriel, and Allan.<p>

A while after they left, Patricia and Beth were at the table in the dining room after breakfast drinking coffee and discussing keeping the group busy in order to help distract them from their losses. "Maybe we could play board games?" Beth asked.

"No, dear, I'm all board gamed out," Patricia half-smiled, sipping at her coffee.

Beth looked out the window and saw the land they had readied for farming. She smiled. "The garden. We could finally start on those winter plants."

"Now I think we've got something. Let's go see who wants to help."

The two finished their coffees and rose to ask others if they wanted to help. Mika happily volunteered. Lyrik agreed to do it because she'd be with some of her closest friends and she felt like she needed more things to do around the place. Ryan, as expected, turned them down, even though his daughter was going to be out there as well. His stance didn't change no matter how much Beth begged, and she didn't want Mika to have to see Ryan the way he was. Otis agreed to do it for his wife, even though he would rather be sleeping or reading. They asked everyone else, but only Allan wanted to do it. They either wanted to sleep more, said they were busy, or just didn't care.

Out in the garden, they had just made it through the first row of cabbage and were about to begin on the next when Otis ripped his glove pulling out weeds that had grown in, and there were still many to get. He stood back for a few moments, watching the others work. Beth was showing Mika how to garden. Allan and Lyrik were doing their best as Patricia struggled to watch over the both of them and make sure that they didn't mess up by planting seeds too close, or planting wrong seeds. Otis smiled at the site. "I'm gonna go look for a new pair of gloves," he said to Patricia, who hummed in return.

Not long after Otis left, some walkers came out from the trees. Allan scoffed as he got up, raising his gun to put them down. Then, more came. It was a herd. A massive one. As it got closer, it could be seen that they were coming from everywhere. All along the northern treeline, not a single place could be seen that a walker wasn't coming out of, and many were making it onto the road leading back to the highway, which was the only safe way out of the forest.

They panicked and began reaching for their supplies. The seeds, gloves, fertilizer; anything even moderately useful within their vicinity. Instead of heading for the house, Allan made a beeline for the remaining RV, causing everyone to follow. _Smart,_ Beth thought to herself as she followed behind everyone.

They loaded the RV with as much as they could and everyone except for Beth and Patricia piled in. Patricia was crying, and was beginning to get hysterical, screaming to go inside for Otis. Allan and Lyrik had to drag her inside the RV as Beth went to warn to the group, "Herd! _Get out!"_

A clattering was heard from inside, but when the herd got too close and no one came outside, they were forced to take off. Allan drove them south, down a dirt road they had cleared for just in case they needed to make an escape. "We can't just leave them!" Patricia screamed. "We can't leave Otis!"

"And what about my dad?" Mika asked, staring out the back window as the house faded into the distance.

Though they agreed that they shouldn't just leave them, they had no choice. If they had waited, the herd would have destroyed everything and killed all of them. All they can do is hope that everyone made it out. "I'd rather have sixteen die than twenty-one," Allan said, almost heartlessly.


	23. Chapter 23: Groceries

**Chapter 23 "Groceries"**

**Day 90; Group B**

Shawn drove down the road, headed towards Salem. They had just left the safety of the house to go look for more supplies. They weren't in desperate need for supplies, but the more they got the better. "It never hurts to stockpile," Ryan had said about the trip a while back. _He's the reason for this whole trip, and he ain't even here,_ Shawn angrily realized.

In the passenger seat was Seth, who was pretty much his best friend these days. In the back of the RV, Robert sat at the table with Selenis and Greyson, while Daniel was in the bathroom.

"I wish we had some more of that fish," Selenis said. "Made a terrific breakfast."

"Seriously," Robert replied. "Maybe we can find another lake somewhere that hasn't had dead people crawling all around in it."

"Doubt it," Shawn said from the front seat.

"Just be thankful we got any meat at all," Seth added. Everyone nodded their heads, slightly upset that would likely be their last meal of protein for a long time, and they remained silent for a few moments, thinking to themselves.

"I'm so tired," Greyson said after a while, putting his head down on the table.

"Well, then why'd you come?" Robert questioned.

"Because I promised Ryan I would."

"Well, he promised _he_ would come. You don't always have to do what he says, you know."

"He's my leader."

"Not anymore."

Greyson raised his head slightly to meet Robert's eyes. "He's still my leader, Robert. Shawn may be yours, but Ryan is mine."

Robert began laughing. "So, Ryan's yours? _All yours?"_

Selenis burst into a laugh as well, and a smile crept across Seth and Shawn's faces, who were listening in. Greyson's eyes widened, slightly embarrassed. "You know what I meant, you weirdo."

"Hey, I'm not judging you here," Robert stated, putting his hands up, smiling widely. Greyson couldn't take his eyes off of Robert's smile. Big and goofy, happy and warm. _Stop,_ he thought, forcing himself to look out the window before Robert spoke again. "If you're into Ryan, that's cool," Robert continued and paused to admire Greyson. From the side, with the morning sun shining on his face from the light outside, he looked like a gorgeous painting. Like something he had only dreamed up. Absolutely gorgeous. "Just don't get too attached. 'Cause I want me some lovin', too," Robert cooed, pulling himself closer to the boy across the table and puckering up his lips, and the freckled boy began to blush and feigned annoyance, keeping his eyes focused on outside the window as he made a frustrated face. He did a good job, though, because everyone truly believed that he was annoyed and upset, only Robert really noticing the blush.

Selenis nudged Robert's shoulder, signalling him to stop. Shawn wanted badly to speak up, but though it would be funny, it would only make Greyson feel more uncomfortable, so he decided to simply smile and keep it to himself. Daniel exited the restroom and was going to sit down at the table with everyone else until he saw Robert making kissy-faces to Greyson. He stopped himself and acted like he needed something from his bag, subtly using an excuse to retreat to the bedroom in the back.

Robert noticed. He winked to Selenis, who smiled and began talking to Greyson, causing him to finally pull his eyes from outside of the window. When Robert felt that they had a strong conversation going, he pretended as though he had to use the bathroom and went to the bedroom, where he saw Daniel lying face-down on the bed. Robert closed the door, which caused Daniel to jolt upright at the noise. When he saw it was the younger boy, he rolled his eyes and grunted, "No."

"Shut up," Robert said defiantly, crossing his arms. "You need to pull yourself together if you want to stay in the closet."

"Who said I wanted to?" Daniel said into the pillow.

"_You_ did, you asshole!" Robert yelled. "That's the whole reason we're not together."

Daniel turned himself over, a harsh face of rage as he put a finger to his lips, telling Robert to be quiet, causing the teen to roll his eyes. "That's not true," Daniel said. "The whole reason we're not together is because you can't respect my decisions."

"Because your decisions are _stupid!_" Robert said, getting extremely angry. "You're doing this because you think it makes you look weak. Because you think it _is_ weak. No one around here judges me for being gay! _No one!_ According to not only Selenis, but also Shawn, Seth, Patricia, Beth, Sierra, Xavier, and just about anybody, _I am a valued member of this group._ Sure, we may meet people who will judge me, but the people around us _aren't like that."_

"Ryan is," Daniel said.

"Ryan's _not here._ What is it with you and Greyson? Why do you two need his approval so much? Need to always be his right-hand-man?"

"He's a good leader, that's why. He's done his best to keep us together, keep us strong. You have no idea about the things he's done for us."

"Well, our old leader Hershel did great things for us, but he understood if you wanted to change your mind about going on a run. If you didn't want to be around a certain person for any reason. If you were _gay!"_

"Robert, this isn't about Ryan. This is about us."

"Right. Let's talk about _us_, then. If you won't come out, then this won't work. It's hard enough to not breathe in another person's breath, how cramped and crowded we all are, but you expect you and I to be able to just run off and be in love? To not openly show how much we care for each other unless it's in the middle of the woods at three in the morning? No, Dan. That's not what's going to happen here. This life is too damn short for me to only get appreciation and love in the dark. So make your choice. Right now. Come out to everyone, or move on."

Moments later, Robert exited the bedroom and headed straight for the bathroom. He looked in the mirror and splashed water onto his face. _Get yourself together. _He was doing his best to hold back tears and rage. He was furious and sad. When he finally thought he looked better, he peed, flushed the toilet, and left the bathroom as if he had been in there the whole time.

Greyson's head was on the table again. Apparently, he and Selenis's conversation had ended, and he was getting some much-needed sleep. He sat down back where he was, right next to Selenis. "So?" she asked.

"No," Robert said quietly, looking down at the table until his eyes met Greyson's hands, gently wrapped around his head. "He said no."

* * *

><p>They had a fairly successful, uneventful run. They found much less than they expected in the grocery store, the only thing close to food being more seeds, candy, sodas, and a large array of rotten foods. "No groceries to bring home to mama," Shawn commented. There were a few bottles of medicine and firestarters. They got luckiest, though, when they found an abandoned tanker that was transporting fuel crashed head-first into a house. The entirety of the vehicle seemed to be fine, so it was quite likely that the fuel had burned up or exploded. Though it was a bit confusing to figure out how the tanker expelled fuel at first, they siphoned out all that they could, putting most into the RV, and everything else fit into five red jugs.<p>

They headed on their way back home after nearly three hours of scavenging. This time, Robert was driving while everyone else sat at the table.

"That tanker, though, man," Seth said.

"I know," Shawn said. "Who ever crashed that was a dumbass."

"But also a blessing," Selenis added.

"Well, not for the driver," Daniel smiled, trying to make a joke. "It's just a blessing that none of it was taken."

"You don't think we stole that, do you?" Seth questioned. "Like, the dude that crashed it was still alive and gonna come back for it?"

"That's not our problem," Shawn said.

"It could be, Shawn. You of all people should remember what happened the last time one of us unknowingly stole from someone," the buff man said, reminding Shawn of how they lost the farm.

The Greene boy frowned and shook his head. "Well," he grinned, "we're prepared this time. They want to get revenge, _let 'em."_

Seth rolled his eyes. "You're going to be the death of us."

The RV suddenly halted to a stop, taking everyone off guard. "What are you doing?!" Daniel yelled.

"Shut up!" Robert whisper-yelled. "If you would look first, you'd see what I see," Robert said, pointing to a herd of walkers visible through the windshield.

"Wait, that's not," Seth said, his voice trailing as he realized where it was going.

"It's headed towards the house," Selenis whispered, sounding horrified.

"It hasn't noticed us," Shawn said. "Keep going. Just drive slowly and they won't notice we're moving. They'll probably just think they're not walking or something."

"Excuse me?!" Robert exclaimed. "They're dumb, but I'm not suicidal."

"Exactly," Selenis added. "We don't know if that would work. And if it doesn't, we couldn't turn around without being buried in the herd. Road's too narrow."

"Well, what do we do?" Greyson asked.

"We leave," Robert replied.

"Okay, we need to be safe, but I'm _not_ abandoning those people," Seth said, annoyed.

"Yeah, my sister's in there!" Shawn exclaimed.

"I'm not abandoning them either. We're going to slowly back out of here before the walkers notice us, wait it out, and when it clears we'll come back. Help any survivors. If there's none, then someone had to have made it out. We'll search. Follow any tracks we find. We're not leaving them, no matter what."

Shawn looked to Robert, slightly stunned. "You know I'm the leader, right?"

"I sure as hell didn't vote for you," Robert said, throwing the RV into reverse. Selenis, Greyson, and Seth smiled at this. Robert's idea wasn't bad, and Shawn needed to be put in his place. Yet again. They made it out of sight of the herd before Robert made a U-turn and went back to the old house, where they would lay low and wait out the herd.


	24. Chapter 24: Gone

**Chapter 24 "Gone"**

**Day 90; Group C**

Everyone in the house was enjoying sleeping in. Yesterday was stressful, and today they were going to rest. In many cases, to mourn. Ryan was completely torn up over the loss of Lizzie. So torn up, in fact, that he unintentionally completely disregarded Mika since the incident, shutting himself in his room, blocking out all reminders of Lizzie. He knows Mika's still alive, and that he should be thankful for it. He knew Lizzie wasn't all there, but he didn't expect it to be like this. He thought he could keep her safe forever — that he could protect her from herself. What upset him most was that he couldn't seem to blame anyone but himself. He wanted to blame those newcomers. He wanted to push the blame on them so, so badly. But he couldn't. They were innocent. They didn't know Lizzie needed special care. He didn't want them to before this happened, either. And that's all his fault. Even if it were at all their fault, he was the one who brought them here. He was the one who uprooted them forcefully and greedily from their place. This wasn't Jessie's fault. It wasn't Ron's. It wasn't anyone's but his. He knew that now.

Everyone around the house was asleep, other than Beth and Mika who were in the living room, Ryan who was with his thoughts, and Oscar and Shakira, who were lying in the room they shared with a fast-asleep Gabriel, whispering to one another. They did this often, as they were usually unable to sleep. They would talk to each other until one of them fell asleep. They were both very quiet people, and they had a lot in common. It became a comfort, and it helped them deal with the things they've had to witness and experience.

"Don't even get me started. I'm Mexican, but I can't _stand _Mexican food," Oscar whispered.

"Really? How does that happen?"

"I don't know. My mom cried when I first turned down her menudo," he shared, causing Shakira to smile. "I was never much of a Mexican food kind of guy. I've always preferred Italian."

Shakira laughed before quickly covering her mouth as to not wake up Gabriel. "Well, whether you do or not, I love me some tapas and mojitos."

Oscar made a joking gag, sticking out his tongue. "Sign me up for pizza limoncellos."

"Isn't Ryan Italian?" Shakira asked, suddenly reminded of the large man.

"Hell if I know," Oscar shrugged. They paused for a moment. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"I think he'll be fine," Shakira whispered.

"Eventually."

"Well, yeah. He's not just going to wake up tomorrow and be over it."

"I know I couldn't."

"I know I didn't," Shakira said, remembering when her little brothers died. Oscar grew quiet, and they remained silent for a while.

"I'm sorry," Oscar finally said.

Accepting the apology, but not that concerned about it, Shakira realized something. This whole time they'd been together, though all of this, Oscar had never told her what had happened to him. He'd shared everything with her. His first crush, first kiss, dream job, favorite things, places he wanted to go, even girls he found attractive. But he had never spoke a word about what happened to him. To his family and friends. She turned onto her side to look at Oscar, who remained looking at the ceiling, and she spoke in Spanish. "I've told you what happened to me. How one of my brothers turned, and he killed his twin. How my parents were so upset about it that they just shut down. You saw them in Lubbock. They were wretched messes, and they wouldn't leave with us. When we went back, they were there, wandering around the same place we last saw them. I bet they just threw themselves at the walkers. I told you everything about them. How much I loved and missed them, and how much they meant to me. How this all changed them. But you have not told me a single thing about what happened to you. You showed up at the refugee center basically in rags, covered in blood and dirt. They thought you were a walker at first. What happened?" Oscar didn't say anything, keeping his focus on the ceiling. He turned away from Shakira just in time so that a tear could escape his eyes without her noticing. "Why won't you tell me? We've shared so much."

Oscar's crying only intensified, and soon he was struggling to hide how his body was quivering with sadness. "Good night," he said, pulling his blanket up over his head.

Shakira sighed, unaware of his sobbing, and closed her eyes, turning away from Oscar. "Good night," she echoed.

Later that day, they were going to have a small breakfast before the scavengers left to go clear out Salem. Kelly and Patti were the two in charge of cooking it. "So what you thinkin'?" Patti asked the purple-haired girl.

"How cute Xavier is," Kelly said airily, a big smile on her face as she focused on her chipping red nail polish.

Patti gave the girl a questioning look and laughed. "Honey. I'm talkin' 'bout the food. What are we gonna make?"

"Oh," she said, straightening her stance, "right. Uh, well, we still have some fish left from before the lake got all contaminated. Why not make that? They could definitely use that ot on the road.

Patti nodded her head. "We got some cabbage and carrots, too. Could make a salad to go with it."

Kelly nodded, and they began preparing the fish. Things were getting too quiet as they were descaling the fish, so Kelly decided to talk about the things that's been on her mind most these days: boys. "So, which of the new guys do you think are the cutest?"

"Oh, I don't know," Patti bit her lip.

"I know that face. You always do that when you're lying."

"What?" Patti asked, suddenly aware of what she was doing.

"You bite your lip when you lie. You did that when Ryan asked if you thought we should leave West Little Rock."

"Can you blame me? We all knew that was gonna be a big mistake. Lost Rex, Dante, and Harry 'cause of that fool makin' us leave."

"I know," Kelly said. "But we met Greyson, Daniel, and Amber because of him, too. Lost Amber, but she wasn't much help anyways."

"Don't talk like that!" Patti said, slicing deep into the fish in annoyance. "Every person we lost was important. Do _not_ talk ill about them."

"Okay, I'm sorry," Kelly whimpered, carrying on with her own fish. After a very tense pause, she continued, trying to continue to justify Ryan's decisions. "We also met these new people because of him. Without these people, we'd be in real bad shape. That Patricia is a smart old lady."

"That she is," Patti said. "The people we met is probably the only good thing that came out of all of Ryan's crap, though. We had it good there."

"Yeah, but we couldn't just let him take off with his two girls alone. He was leaving, and there was no stopping that."

"I know. Don't stop me from missing havin' my own home, though. A warm bed, in a bedroom all my own. Miss the people we left, too. Boyd and Kevin. Laura, Elizabeth, Tavis..."

Thinking of the people they had left behind, Kelly thought back to Roger. She missed him immensely. She thought of the fond memories of them together, when they first made love. Then, she remembered the day she left with Ryan. The only reason she left was because she and Roger were fighting. If she had simply thought with clarity, she would have never left. She and Roger would have made up, and she'd still be happy. Truly happy. When Patti spoke Tavis's name, though, she was snapped out of her thoughts and pushed back into the present. Roger was over. That was in the past. The purple-haired girl recalled Tavis. His big brown eyes, his toned muscles, his luscious dark skin. "Ooh, Tavis was cute, too."

"Those big ol' muscles? Fine as hell."

Kelly burst out laughing. "Finally! I got it out of you." Patti rolled her eyes, smiling from ear to ear. "So who else is cute?"

"Alright, I'll play. Seth's gorgeous. Xavier and Shawn aren't too bad, either."

"Xavier's mine, girl. But you can take one of those other two."

"Maybe not Shawn. That Amanda girl's got her eye on him."

"Well, Seth sure look like he needs a lay. Big, strong man like that's bound to need some assistance."

"I bet. But I don't think he'd want me, of all people. So many pretty little mannequins runnin' around here."

"Don't talk like that," Kelly said, feeling guilty for having pushed this out of her, as she now understood. "Why don't you ask him?" Kelly smiled to her.

Patti half-smiled back. "Maybe I will."

"Right after breakfast."

"No. After he gets back from the run."

"Deal."

Hours later, Ryan was sitting on the back porch, staring coldly at the place where his daughter died. This was the first time he had left his room, which gave everyone hope, but he had simply gotten leftover salad and sat on the lawn chair, not speaking a word to anyone. He exited a while after being asked by Beth whether or not he had wanted to garden. The back porch was on the opposite side of the house as the garden, so he wouldn't have to be seen by Mika. The last thing he wanted was for her to ask anyone more questions about why daddy wouldn't talk to her.

Otis passed him, who took a step back, slightly puzzled. He then said something about gloves and went inside. Ryan wasn't really listening. He came back into focus when a yell was heard coming from inside and Otis ran to the back for him. "Ryan, we have to go, somebody just yelled that a herd's coming." Upstairs, everyone was packing what they could, panicking and running about the place. Ryan was only staring at Otis, unable to process what he had just said. Frustrated and running out of time, Otis slapped Ryan, who fell out of his seat at the sudden jolt. "We don't have time for this!" Otis grabbed Ryan's arm and dragged him inside to get their things. Ryan snapped into it and unleashed himself from Otis and ran upstairs. Otis ran outside the front door, cursing Ryan for taking up his time, and he made it to the doorway, met with a herd of walkers just a few meters away and an absence of people and the RV. He cursed under his breath, slammed the door shut, and ran back upstairs, grabbing the suitcase he had pre-packed, along with his wife's and Beth's. Ryan, Amanda, Shakira, Xavier, Gabriel, Kelly, and Sierra came out of their rooms, and Otis motioned for them to follow him. As they ran down the stairs, Kelly yelled back to the people still in their rooms to hurry up.

Patti was in her room, grabbing Greyson and Daniel's belongings, who she shared a room with, trying to shove as much as she could into her backpack. Oscar was in the room he shared with Shakira and Gabriel struggling to get dressed, his belongings at the ready. When he finally got his pants buttoned up well enough, carrying his belt in hand, he found Patti. "Hurry!" he yelled, following behind the others, who were halfway to the cars parked outside of the house down the road. Patti made it out, feet behind Oscar, struggling to catch up. Just as she made it outside of the house, a walker grabbed at her foot and made her fall down. She turned around and shot the walker in the head, and attempted to get herself back to her feet, but at this point, she was surrounded. The herd was too thick and too quick. She kept shooting at the walkers closing in on her and missed a few times, hitting one only in the chest, and missing another completely. Oscar had turned around, pulling his knife out of its holster as the gun was buried in his bag. He took down a single walker, but before he could pull the knife back out of the walker's head, the walkers had completely surrounded the woman. Her screams could be heard from inside of the pack of walkers on her, and Oscar's only choice was to turn around. He sighed and took off running back to the house. At least she would slow the herd down. For that, he was thankful.

At the house down the road, they had began siphoning all of the gas out of the smaller, dustier vehicles in favor of putting it into the two vans; one black, the other blue. Just as they got all of the gas out of the useless cars, Oscar had made it to them, out of breath. "Patti didn't make it. We have to go now."

"Wait, what?!" Kelly yelled, running with a can of gas to the black van.

"You heard me," Oscar said, throwing his stuff into the back of the blue van and beginning to put his belt on. "Where's everyone else?" he asked, noticing they were missing a few people.

"Gone," Otis said, speaking between heavy breaths. "Patricia, Beth," breath, "Mika, Allan, and Lyrik," breath. "Were out gardening," breath. "Took the RV. Don't know how many made it. Have to catch up to them."

"That was the most I've ever heard you say, Oscar," Ryan commented as he climbed into the driver's seat of the blue van.

They took off in the vans, forced to abandon the gas they didn't have time to put in. As they started up, they realized they were much lower on fuel than expected. They weren't going to get far with this little gas. _The secret to getting ahead is getting started, _Ryan thought, assuring himself that they would make it through this.


	25. Chapter 25: Run

**Chapter 25 "Run"**

**Days 90 & 91; Group A**

The gardeners had drove for a long time, far away from the house and the herd, driving directly south. "We must be twenty miles away, Allan!" Patricia complained "We passed Bunker like an hour ago."

"Patricia's right," Beth chimed in. "We need to turn around."

"Turn around?" Allan mocked. "There's no chance in hell we're turning around. We gotta run."

"Run? We don't have to keep going. Can we stop?" Beth asked, very annoyed. "We're in the clear. The others could be following us, and if we keep going, they might never find us."

Allan sighed. He knew she was right. He kept driving for a while until they made it to a small log cabin. He slowed and pulled up in front of it. "We can wait here, then. Few days, maybe."

"A few days?" Mika said, sounding sad and scared. She hadn't stayed anywhere but the house they had just been ran out of for months, and she hated clearing out houses. A lot of people she was with had died clearing out houses, such as Amber and Rex and Dante. "Can't we just stay in the RV?"

Allan frowned. He knew what Mika was afraid of, vividly remembering his friends dying to walkers because of having to clear out houses. If something like that happened here, it would be devastating. There was only five of them, and besides himself, none of the others were exactly the types of people he'd have clear a house. "I'm not sure about that, Mika. What do you guys say?"

"There's pros and cons on both sides," Lyrik said, running both options through her mind. "If we stay in the RV, we won't be outside risking our lives and if something happens we could easily just take off. We'd be easily spotted, though. If someone — or the walkers — are strong or angry enough, they could easily tip us over and we'd be dead."

"If we took the house, though, we'd have to clear it," Allan began. "It could be holding a number of things. Walkers, traps, and even other people. But if we all make it, it'd be great. Warm, and probably safe. We'd have more space and support."

"How about we vote?" Beth suggested. "All who want to clear the house, raise your hand." Allan and Lyrik raised their hands. "All opposed." Mika, Beth, and Patricia raised their hands.

Allan shrugged and drove farther down the road until he found a place surrounded thinly by trees, not too far off the road and they parked there, where they stayed for the night.

On Day 91, Mika woke up early in the morning, screaming from an awful nightmare, waking up Beth and Lyrik, who were on either side of her in the bed. Patricia was up front sleeping on the couch, while Allan slept on the floor beside her.

"Mika, shhh," Beth whispered. "It's okay, you're okay. I'm here, you're okay."

Beth wrapped her arms around the girl, who was sobbing into her chest. "Now I really wish we had some coffee," Lyrik joked, but Beth flashed her an warning face. She raised her hands and rolled over in response, hoping to be able to get some more sleep.

"Mommy, I had a really bad dream," the girl said, surprising Beth.

"Mika, I'm… I'm not your mommy." Mika pulled back from Beth, her face full of fear.

"I-it wasn't a dream…" Mika said, saying it like a question.

"I'm sorry," Beth said, pulling her back into her arms. "I know, cupcake. It's hard. But we'll make it. I'm here for you. No matter what, I'm here for you."

"You promise?" Mika asked, a muffled sob.

"I promise."

Later that day, Allan had done a sweep around the area they were in, checking their surroundings in the morning light. He had found another, smaller house to the south and a river about a mile west. Patricia and Lyrik went down to the river that afternoon to get water to boil on the fire, having finished off the remaining water from their watering cans. They were both armed with a machete and a gun.

"Mika's not okay," Lyrik said after they both made sure there were no walkers around and they were bent over at the river.

"Well, can you expect her to be? She's ten years old, just lost her sister, and for all she knows her dad is dead, too. The only one of us she really knows that well is Allan, and she doesn't seem that close with him."

"She's got Beth," the black girl shrugged.

"Yeah," Patricia said, putting down a water bottle and picking up another. "She does. I think if Beth wasn't here, that little girl would be lost."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean she'd be a goner. Shut down completely. I don't know if she'd really think about it, but she might even kill herself if she felt bad enough."

Lyrik nodded her head grimly, switching out bottles. "So do you think anybody made it out of there?"

The old woman sighed as she put a cap on her last water bottle. "For our sake, I hope so." She looked to the sunset, thinking about Otis. "Realistically, probably not."


	26. Chapter 26: Wait

**Chapter 26 "Wait"**

**Days 90 & 91; Group B**

Robert drove the RV around through Bunker and back to the house they originally settled in when they came to the national forest. The metal fence surrounding the property was now very rusted, brown and red. The crops in the back had wilted, and the house seemed cold and empty.

"So this is where you guys stayed?" Greyson asked, an eyebrow raised at how bad the place looked.

"Used to look better," Shawn told the teen. "Looked more homely. Felt less empty."

"Not by much, though," Daniel said, recalling when he, Ryan, and Patti brought took them from this place.

Shawn scoffed, annoyed. "I'm gonna go outside for a bit," he said as if he were going to urinate. Everyone knew what he really was going to do, though, as he slipped out the sliding glass doors.

He stood over the graves of Maggie and Hershel. "I miss you guys. More than you know. I really wish you were here now. You weren't supposed to die. You didn't have to. If it wasn't for that Spanish bitch, you'd both still be here. I'm sorry I didn't do more. That I didn't hunt her down and avenge you, Dad. That I didn't do more to let you know how much I loved you, Maggie. And now, Beth might be dead, too. If she is, I don't think I can take it. I don't think I can bear to know that I'm that last standing Greene. I wouldn't kill myself, but I just," Shawn began crying, thinking about being alone. About losing everyone he's loved before this. "I don't know if I could function without you all. And Patricia and Otis. I know I wanted to be leader, but I don't think I can do it. Not alone. Not like this. I'm sorry, Daddy, but I don't think I can be the man you wanted me to be. Not anymore."

* * *

><p>Hours later, Daniel, Selenis, Seth, and Greyson were in the dining room, waiting on Shawn and Robert to finish preparing their meal for the day. They only had enough food for two days if they had a single meal per day.<p>

"I hope my friends are okay," Greyson said.

"Aren't _we _your friends?" Seth asked, trying to make light of the situation.

"You know what I mean. I'm talking about my group."

"Ryan, Patti, and Allan," Daniel listed off. "If any of them are alive, it's those three."

Seth shrugged. Greyson was obviously distraught mostly about his own people, and Seth couldn't blame him for that. Their two groups had been a bit hostile since they had united, and Greyson didn't socialize very much with anyone in their group other than Robert, and that wasn't what Seth would call 'socializing,' on Greyson's part at least. Daniel didn't seem to like anybody. He and Allan were very distant people.

"I don't know about that," Selenis replied to the Daniel. "But I understand. I feel the same way about my people. Gabriel's the only one I really expect to have made it, and even he's probably not that likely. He's the strongest and smartest, but he's definitely the slowest."

Seth half-frowned. "The only person left from 'my group' is Amanda, and she and I kind of hate each other. I'm sure if some of them made it, she's with them. Stronger than she looks. And acts." As everyone seemed to do these days, they grew quiet, but not for long. "Actually," Seth corrected, "I don't think that's fair to say. About 'my group,' I mean. I met Hershel and his people pretty much at the start of this whole mess, and they mean as much to me as anybody else. I'm not sure who would be strong enough to make it though. I mean, fuck, I thought Robert was pretty weak, but did you hear the way he talked to Shawn? Boy's got some guts hidden away. So who knows who made it. Beth and Lyrik, who I thought were goners from day one, are likely still standing."

They both nodded their heads, and Greyson once again found himself thinking about Robert. Seth had a point about how strong he was, and it both concerned him and made him feel better. Flattered, even. It made him realize how weak he was by comparison. All this time, he had never really done much of anything besides take orders. First from Daniel, and then from Ryan. The most brave thing he ever did was kill the five walkers that devoured Amber, and that was only because he was blind with rage and depression. But it comforted him knowing that he was with such strong people. That he would be so safe with such capable friends. He was flattered that a person like Robert wanted him, on top of it. That Robert could lead and protect people, and yet he still wanted to be with someone as weak as he was. Was it just for his appearance? Did Robert only flirt with him because he thought he was cute? Or did Robert truly like him? His reverie was halted as Daniel and Robert walked out carrying plates of candy from the run and stale beef jerky and vegetables they had loaded up in the RV for the mission, with sodas on the side. "Sort of like a child's dream feast," Robert said, laying plates in front of Selenis and Greyson. "Kinda. A little bit."

"Not at all," Seth jokingly finished, bringing a smile to a few faces.

* * *

><p>The next night, on Day 91, everyone was sitting in the living room by the fireplace. They were silent, having just eaten what little food they had left. Their focus was on the fire, clinging to the warmth in the cold autumn evening.<p>

Seth walked in shivering, letting in a chill as the door opened, and he quickly closed it behind him and settled in next to the fire, wrapping himself deeper into his grey hoodie he had brought for the scavenging trip. "I think we're gonna have to stay here a while longer. That herd's too big. It's starting to thin out now, but I'm not gonna go back there in the middle of the night. We have to wait. It's still headed south, so first thing tomorrow morning, we head to the house. Check for survivors. Get any supplies left behind at the least."

Some of them nodded and they all understood. If anyone was still in there, they might leave before they got there, but it was too cold and too much of a risk to go out there now. They all snuggled up together under some thin blankets they found upstairs to get some sleep, their stomachs growling and their minds filled with worry; wind blowing heavily against the house, which was blowing in lightly through cracks in the house, causing a high-pitch whistling sound. Shawn sadly rose from his spot on the couch for his shift of lookout duty. It was going to be a long, cold night.


	27. Chapter 27: Hide

**Chapter 27 "Hide"**

**Days 90 & 91; Group C**

The group drove as far as they could down the dirt road, which winded long and far through the woods. The downside of that was that the road quite often forked into dead ends, where trees had grown into the dirt road, making it impossible to keep driving through, or the road simply ended or led to a house, which was not what they needed. What they needed was to escape. To find an actual road and get as far away from the house as quickly as possible. They didn't know where the herd was, exactly how massive it was, or even if it had changed directions. "Finding a house and staying there," Ryan had said about it, "would be the dumbest thing we can do. We have to keep moving or the herd will catch up and kill us all."

They were finally on a good path that hadn't lied to them yet. They had been driving without having to stop for about thirty whole minutes now, which was pretty much a record. Then, just as their luck would dictate, the gas ran out. Ryan, the driver of the leading blue van, groaned as his van sputtered to a stop. He got out and slammed the door in rage, opening the back to get everyone's packs out of the back as they all followed him out of their seats.

"We're on foot now," he stated.

"At least now we can keep headed straight for the highway if we hit another dead end," Sierra said, pointing out the upside to this.

They kept walking for the rest of the day, stopping occasionally when their feet began to hurt, when some walkers needed to be taken care of, or when they needed to stop at a stream for water.

Ryan checked his watch, and found that it was 10:21 P.M. He sighed, knowing they had no choice but to stop. They couldn't carry on like this, but stopping was dangerous. They would be sleeping in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night after having just escaped a herd that may very well still be following them. He froze in place, sighing as the others caught up to him. _Apparently there's nothing that can't happen today._ "We have to stop," he finally said.

"Do we, though?" Otis asked.

"We might find a place to stay if we keep going," Xavier said. "We don't have to sleep in the middle of the woods."

Ryan rolled his eyes. "Keep going?" he asked. "You fucks keep stopping and slowing us all down. Getting tired after only thirty minutes of walking," he glared at Otis, Shakira, Amanda, and Gabriel. "We can't keep stopping. We're faster than walkers, but not if we keep taking thirty minute breaks."

"So your solution is to make us stop for three or more hours, instead?" Xavier questioned.

"No, it's to get you people some actual rest while the big dogs keep watch. Me, you," referring to Xavier, "Sierra, and Kelly will take turns while you others get the sleep you so obviously need. We can also boil some of the water we got back there."

Not wanting to continue the argument and waste more time, they began to set up camp, pulling out the four tents they had in the packs for the night. Shakira and Oscar decided to take one, Otis and Gabriel took another, Kelly and Xavier were given one together, and Sierra and Amanda were left with the last one.

"Let's let the lovebirds have a little bit of luck tonight," Sierra had said about Kelly and Xavier sleeping together.

"Wait, what?" Xavier asked.

"Is it that obvious?" Kelly whispered to Xavier.

Those around her, including Xavier, laughed as she stood there looking confused. "Obvious?!" Gabriel laughed.

"You two never take your eyes _off_ of each other," Amanda giggled.

"Kelly, you practically announce to everyone you're alone with for more than three minutes how much you like that crazy-haired mess," Sierra smiled, pointing to Xavier's brown hair that had grown long and wild since this all began.

Xavier and Kelly were blushing profusely, unable to look each other in the eyes as they entered their tent, earning "Ooh"s from a few people.

Ryan was the first one on watch, circling the camp with a sniper rifle in his arms and his favorite machete in its holster, his shirt tucked behind it for easy access.

It was a slow, dark, quiet night. It was getting colder, and that was easy to tell. He knew that it was only going to get colder, as well. Maybe even quicker than he thought. He shivered and stood closer by the bright fire, illuminating much of the camp very well. Strangely, he had seen very few walkers throughout the night. _Maybe they're all up in that herd, _he considered.

As things grew quiet and lonely, he was left with only his thoughts as he kept a watchful eye on the woods. He remembered his daughters. He thought about Lizzie. How he had only lost her just recently, and was forced out of mourning. He remembered the shots he took that put down she, Jessie, and Ron. _Did those shots bring in the herd?_ he wondered. _I think they must have. They were on a direct collision course for our place, and this all only happened yesterday._ He then realized that he had no idea where Mika was; if she was safe, who she was with, or anything. His heart began racing as he considered the things that could be going on with her, and he felt like he was about to cry. He had purposely let her leave him, he realized. He pushed himself away from her because he thought he needed time, but because of that, he may have lost her forever.

Snapping him out of his thoughts, a few noises could be heard coming from the south. He knew it wasn't the herd, so he sneaked towards it as quietly as he could, his gun held up at the ready.

Then, a walker came out of the bushes, a young teenage girl with short black hair and glasses. He grabbed his black machete and waited for it to come closer, but it hesitated, which struck Ryan as odd. It opened its mouth, and Ryan swung his machete down on the young walker's head, and before he could stop the swing, it yelled, "Please!"

He didn't register that the girl was actually alive. His eyes were wide, his hands still on the machete now plunged deep into the girls skull. Her eyes looked sad and desperate. He took a step back as her body fell over, the machete still encumbered in her head, and he put his hand over his mouth in shock and regret as he stared down at the teen. She had to be about fourteen years old, not far from Lizzie's age. She was covered in walker guts from head to toe, dirty and messy. He looked past her corpse, now lying lifeless on the ground, to see walkers headed towards them. She had sneaked right past them, and they had now noticed Ryan. How did she do that? Was it the guts?

He raised his sniper that had a silencer attached to it and took down the four walkers that were on the way. After they went down, he turned his attention back to the girl, and he began to cry. Then, many voices could be heard calling from the woods, whisper-yelling, "Sarah? Sarah, where did you go?"

Ryan panicked, wiped the tears from his face, yanked the machete from the girl's head, and threw her body into the trench they had dug for taking care of bodily functions, that could also double as a biter-tripping pit. Slow them down, at least.

Sierra exited her tent to check on Ryan after hearing the faint shots, and she took her shift. Ryan simply told her it was a few walkers.

She was approached by a man in walker guts many hours after taking shift. It was now quite late, and the wind was intensely strong and cold, but she had no choice but to keep guard, or else she would be putting everyone in danger. He was a bit pudgy, and looked smart. He had his arms wrapped around himself, desperately clinging for warmth under his wet, thin white jacket. Stepping out of the woods, he said, "Hello?" in a thick Mexican accent to Sierra. She raised her gun and refused to talk to him, plugging her nose with her fingers. "I'm just looking for my daughter," he told her. "I don't know where she went. Please, I just want her."

"Firstly, why are you covered in guts?" she asked, seemingly uncaring about this man's daughter. For all she knew, he was lying. Plus, people lost their kids all the time. This was nothing to cry and get upset about now. Just a day in the life of the world of walkers.

"Because I lost my weapons along with most of my supplies."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You don't know?" the man asked, getting a lifted eyebrow in response from Sierra. "If you put their guts on you, you're basically invisible. They can't tell the difference between you and any other old walker. You can hide. Now, have you seen my girl?"

Sierra pondered the validity and sense of what the man had just said. There were more important things to worry about, though, as he was obviously very worried about his daughter. "I don't know where your daughter is," the blonde said, her hardness cracking. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen her."

"Well, thank you anyways, I guess," he said, turning back to the woods.

"Wait," Sierra beckoned. "Are you sure you don't want to stay here with us? We can help you in the morning."

"No," the man said, his voice suddenly very cold. "I don't want to stay with you. I don't know you, and I need to get back to my people."

Sierra nodded her head, slightly confused. As he walked off, she considering shooting him so that she could loot him, but decided against it. He walked right past walkers, who barely sniffed at him before checking him off as a fellow undead corpse, and Sierra stood, astounded that he wasn't lying.

_Hopefully he finds his girl_, Sierra thought, and she was unaware of the corpse rotting in sewage a few feet behind the tents she was standing in front of; and Ryan sobbing in the tent he was now sharing with Amanda, who was wide awake, listening to the man she really didn't like mourning, presumably still over Lizzie.

"Yeah, but she still would have been useful if she were here," Oscar said to Shakira, the two of them once again whispering to one another in Spanish before they slept, pushed close against one another on their backs for warmth in the cold night.

"True," Shakira shrugged. "She was a great shot, and she was so smart. I am going to miss Patti so much."

"It is that way with a lot of people, though."

"Yeah."

They remained quiet for a few moments, watching the light of the fire flickering on the door of the blue tent, wishing it were a stronger, warmer flame.

Oscar was thinking about all of people he had lost. All of the people he had seen die or just leave. Marina, Emilia, Rosa, Abi-Maria, Hershel, Maggie, Lizzie, Ron, Jessie, Patti… and his family. Now was the time. He didn't know how much longer they would have. His group had plenty of experience being on foot, but not running from a herd. Not with such a large group, after having lost so many people. Things now were more uncertain than ever.

"We were in Lamesa," he began in English, and Shakira looked to him, shocked. "My dad was sitting on the porch, getting fresh air."

Shakira stopped him. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I want to," he assured her, turning his head to look her right in the eyes. He continued, "He was disabled. Couldn't walk without our help, and we were too poor for a walker. Madre had just put him out there and she went to the bathroom, then was going to bring him food and they were going to eat outside. It was summer, so they usually ate outside, watching the sunset. I'm not exactly sure what happened, but when I got there, I found my dad being devoured by some of the turned neighborhood kids. He was screaming in pain, couldn't move or fight back in any way. He kept screaming, 'Kill me, mijo! Kill me! Save me from this, goddamn it!'" Oscar stopped talking for a moment, his eyes beginning to water. He blinked rapidly, trying to stop. "I just," he said, beginning to sniffle. "I couldn't. I ran inside, found my mom hiding in the bathroom, hysterical. She told me I had to kill Papa. She handed me his rifle, and told me she'd be right behind me. I could hear him outside screaming the whole time."

Shakira whispered, "Here," not trying to interrupt the boy as he continued telling his story, as she rolled up her sleeve and wiped at Oscars tears, then pulled him into her arms.

"Thank you," he said, crying hard. "So, I went out there, put the kids down. Then, I had to kill my dad. He looked so miserable. He died in front of me, and I waited so long to shoot him. He turned, started moving again. Madre thought he had survived. She got really excited, jumping up and down, and she pulled him into a hug. He bit into her neck, pulling out veins and muscles. It was gruesome. I shot him in the head, and Madre broke down. She clutched her neck, bleeding horribly, and ran off. I found her a few minutes later," he paused once more, his voice now a whimper. "She was throwing herself into a crowd of walkers." His eyes met Shakira's, tears flowing steadily from his eyes. "And she was dragging my little brother in with her by the hand."

He sobbed into Shakira's chest, and she had never felt closer to him than now. At the same time that she felt happy Oscar finally trusted her, she felt engulfed in guilt. She had pushed so hard for Oscar to tell her what had happened, and now she was worried the boy was never going to stop crying. Never going to get better.

Xavier and Kelly were awkwardly trying to ignore the thick sexual tension between themselves as they entered the tent, hearing the resulting "Ooh"s and simultaneously turning as red as tomatoes.

They laid there silent for a while, facing away from each other and attempting to sleep as everyone else filed into their own tents. As time passed, the wind picked up and they became much colder.

"Xavier?" Kelly eventually called, hoping he hadn't passed out yet.

"Yeah?" Xavier sounded.

"Oh," she said, slightly regretting speaking up. She really didn't have anything planned to talk about, and now she would be the one to break the tension, which made her slightly nervous. She just wanted to talk with Xavier. _Maybe I could talk about what all had happened?_ "Uh, I don't know."

"What's wrong?" he asked, turning over to see her, and she did the same.

Now lying on her side, Kelly thought. "Nothing," she said. "I was just thinking about Patti."

"You going to miss her?" the messy-haired man asked.

"I am," Kelly said. "I also feel really sad about everything."

"Yeah," he said, remembering the death scene of Jessie, Lizzie, and most importantly to him, Ron. He got intensely sad thinking about Ron going down like that. He couldn't help but blame Jessie, at least a little bit. She wasn't suitable for this world. She didn't know how to protect her boy in a life this dangerous. Xavier did, though. Xavier knew what had to be done, and had he been there instead of Jessie, he knows Ron would still be alive. He loved that kid, and he would always miss him. "I do, too."

"You know," she said after watching the light of the fire on the tent for a while, "I talked to Patti this morning. When we were making breakfast." Xavier nodded. "She told me she liked Seth. I convinced her to try to talk to him. She was going to do it when he got back this afternoon from the run." Kelly's lip quivered as she held back tears, and Xavier scooted closer to pull her into a hug, both to comfort her and to get warmer. "And now she never can," she said, her voice hollow.

They laid like that for a long time, and Kelly nearly fell asleep in his arms, the warmth soothing her. Xavier eventually became uncomfortable and tried to pull away, but she pulled him in tighter instinctively. She looked up to him, her eyes slightly glazed. _She looks so perfect, _Xavier thought. He slowly moved his head down to hers, motioning for a kiss, and she followed. Their kiss became intense, and Kelly began to wake up. One thing led to another, and soon they were on top of one another, tossing and turning in the tent, making love. Comforting each other with their bodies.

Sierra noticed, and she smiled to herself, but also felt a small hint of jealousy inside of herself. She shivered into her jacket and brushed it off, going back to keeping watch. _Things are more important than love, _she reminded herself. Keeping herself — these people, everyone she loved and had left in the world safe was her priority now.


	28. Chapter 28: Awkward

**Chapter 28 "Awkward"**

**Day 92; Group A**

It was morning, and everyone was hungry and cold from the night that had passed. The RV was cold at night, and last night they all slept in the bed, desperate for warmth.

They had a little bit of food they had kept in the RV in case something like this happened — referring to being separated — and they had found a few berries and nuts around the area, but most were gone or dead as fall ripened. They were now out of food, aside from a few leftover nuts. Lyrik, Allan, and Patricia were at the couch, talking quietly as the sun rose to not awake Mika and Beth.

"We need to go on a run," Allan said, eating a pecan and tossing the shells into a bag they used for garbage.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea," Patricia said about it.

"We don't have much choice," Lyrik said. Allan nodded his head, causing Lyrik to smile at the confirmation that she was correct.

"Either way, we're not strong enough. What if we find a whole house full of walkers? We've only got maybe six rounds between the five of us. Maybe about seven each, actually, since Mika can't shoot very well."

"Then we run. There's no shame in running. We turn around with what supplies we have and run back to the RV and drive off."

"What if someone steals the RV while we're in there?" the older woman questioned.

"Okay, well, how about we take shifts, maybe? Three go into a house first, while one of us shifts out to watch Mika and the RV."

"That could work," Lyrik said. "_Could,_" she emphasised.

"Let me guess, though," Patricia said, sighing. "You, of course, won't be taking shifts along with the rest of us. Because you're '_the most capable one of all you ladies,'"_ quoting something he had said often to them.

"Look, I'm not trying to be mean or anything, but I'm the best shot out of all of us."

"I'm pretty good, too," Lyrik pointed out.

"Well, yeah, but you're not the _best_," he declared, and Patricia and Lyrik gave him a dirty look. "Wait, I didn't," he said, trying to find his words.

"Save it," the dark-skinned girl said. "I know what you meant. None of us here are nearly as good as you are, and we could never be, either."

"No, I just," the man in dirty, stained flannel frowned, and rethought his words. He truly didn't mean to come off so self-centered and entitled. "I mean that I'm the surest chance we have of making it if we go scavenging, or get into any trouble. I just want to be there to make sure that no matter what we face, I can help. I can be there to keep you all safe, and make sure we don't lose anybody. I didn't mean to offend you guys."

"Whatever," Lyrik finished the argument. "It's settled, though. We're going into the nearest town, and we're taking shifts."

* * *

><p>They headed out a few hours later after Beth and Mike woke up. They spent some time looking for more food, but had very little luck, only finding some more pecans and walnuts, further fueling the need for a run.<p>

They loaded what supplies that had set up around the parked RV and drove it far south, past Bunker, past the next town called Ellington, and into the heart of another small town. As they drove in, they saw a sign that read, "Welcome to Winona! Small town, big people!"

"I hope that doesn't mean fat walkers," Allan joked, earning a chuckle from Lyrik and Patricia. "Those are the worst."

They drove in and began with the nearest house, working their way deeping into the town. For the first house, Allan, Lyrik, and Beth were the first ones in. In the second, Allan, Patricia, and Lyrik. In the next, Allan, Lyrik, and Patricia. The cycle continued for hours, and they got a good amount of supplies. They ended up with enough non-perishable foods to last them for the next two weeks, so long as they were careful; a lot more gas they decided to siphon from the cars they parked next to; and many non-food supplies, such as cotton swabs, matches, lighters, a few more bullets, and a few more weapons, along with other miscellaneous things.

They were on their last block, on the corner of 5th street, and everyone was complaining. "Allan, haven't we had enough close calls for one night?" Patricia asked, referring to the dozens of walkers they encountered inside of the houses, which were usually hidden or in great number, thus horrifyingly dangerous.

"Just one more building," he promised, leading them to the last house on the block as Lyrik went back into the RV, switching off with Beth. It was quite a large house, and as they approached, the moans could be heard from outside. There were many walkers.

"Can you hear that?" Beth asked rhetorically. "We should just go."

"With that many in there, they're bound to have tons of loot. Coulda been survivors. One died, it carried on, and they've been dead in there with things _we_ need."

They both frowned to each other. Allan had a really good point. "I still don't think it's a good idea," Patricia said.

"It's fine," Allan said. He observed the house. There was a large, elevated porch leading up to the door. The house was a single floor, and wide. All the rooms were likely connected, so they couldn't take it room-by-room. "We'll open the door and let them slowly come out," he decided. "I'll hold the door, one of you put the first one down, I'll open it enough to loose its body, and we'll repeat. Simple."

"How'd you come up with that?" Patricia questioned.

"I did it long before I met you all. It was me, Kelly, and this guy, Dante trying to get out of a trailer we were stuck in for a few days. Dante thought it up. Smart man." He made it to the door and pressed himself against it. "Not smart enough to still be here, though."

He opened the door and whistled, attracting the walkers to them. He closed it just in time for the first one to get caught between the door and the outer wall. Beth went up to it and easily stabbed it through the head with a screwdriver they found a few hours ago. Allan opened the door slightly, letting the body fall to the floor and repeated the process. Patricia used a small gardening shovel to kill the walker and it sliced right through the undead redneck, cutting off the top of its head, its skull and rotten brain falling grossly to the floor and rolling around for a moment. Beth turned around and gagged.

"Please don't be like Arnold," Patricia said, gagging as well due to Beth's. "If you puke, I'm gonna puke."

Allan rolled his eyes, pretending as though none of this bothered him. "I can't hold all these walkers back on my own," he said, pointing out that he had already gotten another one hinged. "One of you get over here and put this bitch down!"

Beth picked her screwdriver back up and shoved it into the walker's head, her left arm over her mouth as she swung down. When she tried pulling out the screwdriver, she struggled. It was stuck. She began to panic as more walkers came, visible through the crack Allan held open, and they were piling up on the door. She attempted to use her left hand to grab the screwdriver, but only ended up hurting her fingers, still bandaged from when she cut them off..

"Just leave it!" Allan yelled, putting all of his weight against the door.

Beth continued to grab for the screwdriver, desperate. The weight of the walkers proved too much, and it burst open, causing Beth to scream in horror as she fell to her rear, the screwdriver still not loose. Allan was pushed back, and he reached for his gun. Allan and Patricia opened fire on the mass of walkers as Beth pushed herself backwards from them. Lyrik exited the RV to see the scene, and immediately ran to help, taking down a few. Allan and Patricia found themselves with only two bullets each as Lyrik easily got headshots on many of them. As it thinned, they took down the remaining few walkers physically.

"Is everyone okay?" Allan asked, panting.

"I think so," Beth said, cradling her injured hand.

Patricia went to the walker dead by the door and yanked the screwdriver out of its skull.

"Was it really worth it?" Allan asked, clearly angry about this.

"Shut up, you ass," Patricia warned as she handed the screwdriver back to Beth.

After taking a few moments to recollect themselves, Allan finally remembered the whole reason they did this. "Well, are we gonna clear this house, or what?"

Patricia sighed as the sun began to set. As she looked around the area, she noticed three figures approaching from the treeline to the west. "Aw, hell. More walkers."

Allan squinted at them, and became confused. "I'm not sure about that. Look at the way they're moving."

"Well, that one's missin' a hand," Patricia pointed out.

"That's why I'm not sure."

As they came closer, it was clear that they were in fact not undead. It was two male figures and a female. The man in the middle was large, with big, toned muscles, short black hair, and a chiseled chin with a matching, short beard. To his left was another man, not near as buff and a half a foot shorter than the middle man, with long brown hair up in a ponytail and only a bit of stubble. Everyone immediately noticed how attractive the two were, including Allan, who even could admit when he found a man attractive. The girl to the large man's right had short brown hair, and was at least a foot and a half shorter than the muscled fellow. She had very tan skin and appeared to be of some sort of middle-eastern European descent, such as Indian or Arab, and she was missing her right hand. They were all wearing quite dirty clothes and their hands were dark with dirt, but that was to be expected in these times.

They approached with their hands up, but they obviously had guns and knives holstered. "Hello!" the man in the center called.

Allan, Beth, Patricia, and Lyrik held their guns up, untrusting. "Who are you?" Allan yelled.

"Strangers," he said.

"Can I have names?"

"Well, my name's Taylor," the strong man said. "This is Malcolm," he shrugged his head to the smaller man, then to the woman, "and she's Sarita."

"Well, what do you want?"

"At this moment, your names. If we have to, so do you."

Allan rolled his eyes. "I'm Allan. The blonde's Beth, this is Patricia," he gestured, "and that's Lyrik. What do you _want?_"

"Companionship. Camaraderie. Friends. Numbers. For us to pool our supplies and strength. Clearly, you folks need it."

"Who says we don't have more people? That we don't have a camp with tons more people?"

"Well, if you did, clearly none of you would be out on a run this dangerous for this long."

"You've been watching us?" Beth asked, slightly worried.

"Don't twist it around and make it awkward. We wouldn't have approached you without getting to know a little bit about you first, would we?" Allan frowned, suddenly nervous. He wondered how much they knew. If he knew they only had a few bullets left apiece. "Switching out like that, huh? Clearly you've got someone or something in that RV that needs guarding." Beth bit her lip. "What is it? Someone disabled? A prisoner? Child?"

"It's," Beth paused, considering. What could she say that would scare them into leaving? Or that would let them know they are trustable and to not hurt them? She decided there was no way to know what they would want to hear, what would keep them safe, so she told the truth. "It's a little girl."

Taylor seemed to soften, and Beth was put at ease with telling the truth. "Well, in that case, please. For her sake, join us. No offense, but you need us. Sarita here's smart with medicine, if none of you are a doctor and need help. Me and Malcolm are strong. Good with all sorts of weapons."

"What do you get out of it?" Allan inquired.

"I already listed everything I would get. Friendship, all that. It's been just us three for a while, and we need numbers bad. You all may not be the best, but you're definitely capable. Useful. Cleared out three whole blocks of houses and an overrun house all on your own."

Allan smiled, proud of himself for being what he thought to be such a good leader. _If I didn't make them clear out that last house, we might never have been approached by these people. That could be bad, but if it's good, I'm the reason we got us more useful people._

"We've got a place really close to here," Taylor stated. "Right down the street, actually. If you're all in."

Allan looked to the other three, almost ready to agree. Beth nodded. Lyrik shrugged. Patricia took a moment, but put her gun down. "We're in, then," he finally said, making sure everyone agreed.

They all got into the RV, where Beth introduced Mika to the new people. Malcolm sat up front with Allan, pointing him to the place they were staying. According to him, they had only gotten here a few days ago, coming from Kentucky. They were staying with some people they thought were good, but they then found out that they were what they perceived to be crazy and absolutely heinous.. Any person they met, they killed and looted, no matter who it was. Big strong threat, sad lonely woman, scared lost child, anyone. Taylor and Malcolm had been together from the beginning and they got out with Sarita, who they knew shared their ideals.

* * *

><p>The place they were staying used to be a store. It had a sign above it that once read, "Winona Hardware &amp; Building Supply," but had been crossed out and written over with the words, "NO HOPE," made in something red. They weren't sure if it was blood or paint, but either way, it was a sad thing to see.<p>

Outside it, a few dead walkers were littered about near the treeline. "Helps keep other walkers away," Malcolm claimed.

That night they had dinner together, eating meat they had gotten from a few squirrels Taylor and Malcolm had hunted that morning and the rest of the nuts and berries Patricia had kept in the RV. They sat at the counter that was previously used for checking out customers, which reminded Lyrik of the day this all began; losing LaRissa, and later Lily, and now Robert. She pushed the thoughts away, though, to this moment. Observing the new people, and celebrating the friendship they were forming.

Throughout the meal, the girls couldn't help but flirt with Taylor and Malcolm, as they were both very attractive men to them.

"I don't know how you've kept your hands off of them," Lyrik joked to Sarita.

"Who says I have?" she retorted with a coy smile.

"Ooooooh," Lyrik said as everyone laughed. "Which one's yours? Or is it both?" she smiled widely.

"It's both," the Indian woman said flippantly, and Malcolm and Taylor both looked on with uncomfortable smiles. It felt strange being talked about like they were meat, and like they weren't even there, but they didn't want to come off as assholes the first night they spent together. After the laughter eased, she noticed their faces and corrected herself. "I've actually not been with either. I'm not exactly ready for anything like that yet," she said, drifting off, returning her focus to the berries and squirrel meat in front of her.

Beth and Patricia frowned, realizing she probably meant she had lost her significant other. Small talk continued among everyone once more, but Beth couldn't take her eyes off of Sarita's limb, her right arm cut off at the elbow. It reminded her of Maggie, and she became quite sad thinking about it. She wondered if the darker woman's arm had been cut off due to a walker bite. She had to know. When the conversation around her died a little bit, she took her chance. "Ma'am," she began.

"Sarita," the older woman corrected. "Just call me Sarita. No need for formalities."

"Right. Sarita, what happened to your hand? Not trying to be rude or anything, though."

"Oh, it's fine," she half-smiled to the blonde. "There's no offense taken. Everyone asks me about it. Do you really want to know? It's a long story. Kinda awkward."

Beth looked to the others, who looked just as curious. She nodded her head to Sarita.

"Well, it was a long time ago. Back when this all began. I was in Louisville, Kentucky, where I used to live. When it happened, me and my boyfriend Burton locked ourselves in his apartment building. We were forced to leave after a while, and when we escaped there were so many of them. One of them bit me, and I did my best to pull myself off of it. Burton panicked. We had watched other people turn after being bitten through our windows. I don't know what it was but he just acted on impulse, and instead of chopping into the walker biting on me, he swung down on my arm. At the time, I thought he had missed, or had gone mad. He had emotional problems, and I knew that. He feared being alone more than anything, and had severe anxiety. But he saved my life. We made it out of there, and I never turned. I was afraid of him for a while, but I see now that he was just desperate. That he was trying to help the one person he loved. He apologized so many times…"

"So, what happened to him?" Lyrik inquired.

"He's gone now. Obviously." Beth nudged Lyrik with her shoulder, giving her a scolding look for making Sarita sad. "It's fine," she said, noticing the guilt on the two young girls' faces. "After he cut off my hand, I got really sick. We made it to this group sometime after, and he convinced them to go on a run to get medicine for me. He talked to me the night before he left when I was asleep, and it woke me up, but I pretended to still be out. I still hadn't forgiven him. He talked about a lot of things, and how sorry he was. Made me realize he wasn't crazy. That he truly did care for me." She stared down at the table, clutching her arm. Malcolm wrapped his arm around her, pulling her in close and she smiled to him. "Anyways, he left on that run. He and five other people. Only two men returned, and Burton wasn't one of them. They had the medicine, though. And I made it. They told me about the things he did, and how they had to leave him behind. A walker snuck up on him and ate into him. It wasn't savable at all. He asked them to leave him. Let him turn." Her voice quivered, "And they did."

As they continued eating, things eventually lightened up. The small-talk resumed, and they all ended on a positive note. That night, it rained, and they were thankful as ever that they were out of the RV, in the nice, warm building, all around a fireplace with people who would hopefully become friends.


	29. Chapter 29: Aftermath

**Chapter 29 "Aftermath"**

**Day 92; Group B**

They awoke late that morning, getting much-needed sleep as they huddled together from the cold. The herd had passed long ago, but they were much too cold and exhausted to get themselves going. Daniel drove for today, with everyone in the couch of the RV. They pulled into the road to see the house around noon, the lake behind it glimmering beautifully, just as it had the day they first found this house. Seth and Shawn sighed, seeing the clear difference between then and now. The house was now clearly decimated. Doors were off their hinges or scratched, windows were broken, everything was dirty and trampled. There were seeds and tools scattered around the garden, and all of the plants and soil had been flattened. They quickly noticed that the RV was missing, and after a while, they realized that the vans down at the house down the road were missing, as well.

"This is the aftermath," Robert said under his breath, only heard by Selenis and Greyson.

"I think they got out," Greyson said hopefully.

"Or they died and were looted," Seth grimly stated.

"Well, let's go find out," Shawn said.

They exited the RV, weapons at the ready. They entered the house to see many walkers around. "Put them down silently if you can. Don't hurt the face, we need to know if it's one of ours."

They took down the walkers in the house using their knives, axes, and screwdrivers. They found a total of seven walkers in the building, and not one of them looked familiar. Slightly relieved, they fanned out and took what supplies were left of the house, which was quite a lot. Anything that wasn't out in the open, thus wasn't trampled over by walkers or at least fondled by them, they decided was good and took it. The only things they took that were out in the open were inedible things, such as weapons, medicines in their bottles or packaging, and other such things.

They found their belongings, aside from Daniel's and Greyson's, along with Allan's, Mika's, Lyrik's, and the remaining belongings of Jessie, Ron, and Lizzie.

"Why didn't they take any of their stuff?" Robert questioned worriedly.

"Maybe they just didn't have time," Greyson reasoned. He knew Robert cared greatly for Lyrik, her being his only remaining friend from before all of this. The freckled boy envied Robert a little bit for that. His friends were all dead or gone. He had seen much of his family and friends die early on in St. Louis when this all began. The rest, he had no idea where they were. All he had was Daniel, who was a neighbor he didn't even know. They lived a few blocks from one another, but they never spoke before this began.

Seth put a hand on Robert's shoulder. "Come on, we need to keep moving."

Robert nodded, grabbing up the left behind supplies of their friends and throwing them into the RV.

Outside, Daniel was keeping watch. They knew the herd was still close, and it might not take a whole lot to turn them right around to sweep this house once more. He headed around to the back porch, and he saw another walker from behind. He smiled and pulled out his axe to approach and put down the walker. He whistled to it, and she turned around.

Standing before him was a dead, mangled corpse of one of his closest friends. Undead Patti stood in front of him, snapping her teeth. Daniel pursed his lips, overwhelmed with sadness. He gripped the ax in his hand as she approached, limping. There were holes and bites all along her skin, many places, including her entire right arm, were missing, gnaw marks left in their place. It was clear that the herd had gotten her.

He pulled the axe back and swung it when she got too close for comfort, jamming it in her neck. Annoyed he had missed, he lifted his leg and kicked her off of his axe. Freeing it, he drew it back once more and got her square in the head. Her body fell limp, and he yanked the axe out of her head using his feet to push her off once more. He sighed, and noticed she was carrying many bags. He put his shirt over his nose to try to keep the smell out, bent down, and grabbed the bags of from around her shoulders. They were her own, his, and Greyson's. She had tried to get their stuff for them… Or was simply trying to get as many supplies as possible. He sighed yet again and continued his watch.

When everyone seemed finished gathering supplies, Daniel told them what happened, showing them her corpse, and then pointing to his and Greyson's bags, explaining that she had probably tried to take them to keep their things for just in case.

They mourned, but did not bury her. They needed to get going. Too much time had already been wasted, and a proper funeral would only slow them down more. They had an impromptu service with Daniel, Selenis, and Seth vocally expressing their sadness to see her pass. When Greyson looked like he was about to cry, Robert pulled him into a hug. For once, Greyson did not fight back. He hugged Robert back, taking the comfort and caring Robert was offering to him.

After a few final moments, they loaded up and made their way south, following the tracks left behind by the vehicles, though they were quite flattened. Along the way, they found the abandoned vans with no signs of being recently used. They were empty of people and supplies, no signs of blood or a fight.

"What do you think happened?" Selenis questioned.

"Maybe they ran outta gas," Greyson suggested. "Had to pick up and leave."

"Or maybe someone stopped 'em," Seth said. "Took 'em hostage."

"Seth, shut up," Robert said, looking worriedly to Greyson.

As they continued down the road, they saw a large hole dug, and clearly a body was in the sewage. Everyone held their breath, both because of the stench and in case it was one of them, as Shawn used a large fallen branch to face the body towards them. They didn't recognize it, and thought it to be either Shakira or Mika at first, due to the size of it. They eventually decided that it must be a walker, and they continued on. They noticed small holes in the ground and the ashes of a fire. "They've definitely been here," Seth said.

They made it a ways further down the road, but saw the back end of the herd and sighed. This thing was going to be the death of them, they collectively thought as they backed away from the walkers silently. They kept driving around the herd, getting back to the other side of the path, where they found more, clearer tracks. They hadn't been trampled over, and it was clear that they were the tracks of the other RV.

They followed after it until it ran onto a road. They looked around the surrounding treelines and dirt roads, but only found animal prints and another track of tires, but they were clearly made by a large pickup truck and appeared to be old. They had no choice but to move on, and they found a log cabin to sleep in for the night, taking nice refuge from the coming rain. They cleared it out, only finding the walker of an old man constrained in a wheelchair in the back room, which was quickly and easily taken down and disposed of.


	30. Chapter 30: Again

**Chapter 30 "Again"**

**Day 92; Group C**

The group woke up early that morning. They packed everything back away and did their best to cover their tracks, though they overlooked the latrine and the holes they used for their tents. When they left, they attached small branches to the back of the three in the back's feet to cover their tracks, fearful of the Mexican man Sierra had told them from about the night before.

They had left shortly after sunrise. Ryan was at the front, leading the group. He was thankful Shawn wasn't there, or else they might currently be fighting. He was also thankful no one from the scouting group he was with on the day they met the biker gang was there, or else they might have something smart to say about him being a leader, as well.

Directly behind him was Sierra and Otis, who were keeping an eye out in the trees surrounding the path they were walking, both holding sniper rifles. They both worried for their missing loved ones, but they couldn't let those thoughts overwhelm them. Their purpose right now was to escape the pursuit of the herd and survive.

Following them was Amanda, who was lost in thought as she held a butcher's knife she had grabbed from the kitchen when they left. She couldn't stop thinking about everyone else. About Beth, and if she was okay. If her missing fingers hindered her and became the death of her. About Seth, and if he even cared about her. She knew he was still alive. He was the biggest and strongest out of all of them. If anyone made it, it had to be him.

Behind her was Xavier and Kelly, who were awkwardly making small-talk, dancing around the subject of what had happened the night before.

Finally, Gabriel, Shakira, and Oscar rounded out the back of the group, twigs tucked into the back of their socks and shoes to brush away their tracks. Mostly, they remained quiet, but when they did speak, it was in Spanish, and usually just comments about the conversations they could hear.

"So," Xavier hesitantly began. "Was last night just… sex to you?"

"No," Kelly said, not wanting him to think she didn't care about him, or was easy.

"So, then," he hesitated once more, very nervous. "Are we… together?"

Kelly smiled to him. "I dunno," she teased.

"So…?"

"We'll see," she grinned. "I'm not sure I'm ready to settle down just yet," she joked.

Xavier lifted a brow and looked very concerned. "Wait, what?" He looked around at the others in the group. "Are you having sex with some of the other guys?"

Kelly laughed at how jealous Xavier got, and decided to tease him more. "Who said it was just the guys?"

Xavier's eyes grew wide, and Kelly laughed even harder. "I'm just kidding," she finished. "I just...don't think I'm ready for another relationship just yet." She thought of Roger, and considered the possibility of ever seeing him again. She still loved him, but she knew he was probably long gone. Even if he wasn't, would he still love _her?_ Would he still want her? He could have moved on, found another person to love.

Xavier half frowned at her as she looked at the ground, but feigned a smile when she looked back up. "I understand."

* * *

><p>After about an hour of walking, Xavier leaned in to kiss the purple-haired girl, and Amanda in front of them yelled "Break?" to Ryan, interrupting them. They blushed and got in the formation, a row along the treeline facing the street.<p>

Ryan made Xavier and Sierra get up and go scout the area around them, both to check for food and to make sure the herd wasn't too close. They were both very strong, capable survivors, and have been for a very long time. They've had to claw their way up from nothing to get jobs in the careers of choice, and along the way they experienced many things that have helped them adapt to this world. Now, though, things were strange between them. They were once together, and they had a huge fight that broke them up. They didn't talk at all, and a few weeks later, they were forced to be around one another once again, and taking care of a child. Then, Xavier finds a new girl. And there is obviously tension over it. Originally, Xavier wanted to ask Sierra if she was okay while they were out, but he decided against it. She seemed very focused now, and he could only assume she was doing well, so they only spoke sparingly.

They found many chestnuts, walnuts, and pecans, along with a few raspberries, but there was very little of it. They moved west, following the food on the trees, and then, the trees opened up into a field and they could see a house. It was quite large, and seemed like it could be useful. If the herd wasn't following them anymore, they could stay there for a while.

They began heading south, finding cover once more in the woods. As they got further south, they grew more quiet. Then, they heard it. The sickly, disgusting moans of walkers.

They looked to one another, eyes wide, and turned around, and when they got far enough they fell into a sprint, trying to get back to their group as soon as possible. They exited the brush, hearts pounding hard. "The herd is just a little bit away. We have to _move!"_

"You're shittin' me," Ryan said, annoyed, as he quickly pulled himself up to his feet.

"No," Xavier panted, "I'm not. Let's _go!"_

"Where?!" Gabriel asked, grabbing his stuff up as everyone did the same, quickly rising.

"We found a house on the other side of the woods not far from here," Sierra said, pushing Xavier to lead the way as she helped everyone get their bags. "We can get there and hide if we hurry."

Clouds began rolling in, darkening the sky as they ran through the woods. After running for about fifteen minutes, many were getting winded and exhausted. Thankfully, they were very close to the house. When they exited the woods, they saw Xavier at the door, attempting to pick the lock.

"Just bust it open like we usually do!" Ryan yelled as they caught up.

"Are you an idiot?! If we break down this door or bust open a window, we might as well just keep running! Not much of a house without doors!"

"Well, what do we do?" the large man asked between breaths, feeling very exhausted.

Sierra looked around nervously, and noticed windows on the top floor. She then looked around, searching for the person who seemed the least tired from running. Oscar, Xavier, and Kelly seemed to be in the best condition. She couldn't take Xavier because he was probably the best lock picker. She decided on Oscar, assuming he might have the best upper-arm strength.

"They're comin'!" Otis yelled as walkers came out of the northern tree-line in the distance.

Sierra jumped into action and grabbed Oscar's wrist. "We'll find a way in! You all stay here and get that lock done!"

She let go of him as he began to run in time with her as she led him around the house, looking upwards. She was searching for a low, large, or open window. Luckily, she found one wide open around the back of the house, and a bench was underneath it. She helped Oscar in, giving him a boost. When he was in, before even looking around, he turned back to the window to grab Sierra's hand and help her in. As she began climbing holding Oscar's hand, he screamed in agony and she fell onto her rear, hurting her foot on the bench on the way down.

Oscar had been bitten, a walker in the room snapping into action as he entered it and faced away from him, chewing into the boy's left shoulder. The boy screamed and let go of the blonde in response to the unexpected pain, and quickly grabbed a nearby lamp to hit the walker in the head and smashing the bulb into the undead woman's head. When he was sure it was dead, he turned back to the window. "Sorry! Get to the others, I'll open the door!"

Sierra nodded hesitantly in response, quickly limping to join the others. Oscar went to the closet in the room he was in and put on a coat to cover the bite. They didn't need to deal with this on top of everything else. He sprinted to the door, wincing as his wound moved every time his arm swung. He opened it up and Xavier stumbled in, Kelly's hair clip stuck in the knob. He yanked it out and they all followed in, beginning to close curtains and pile objects in front of windows and doors. Sierra was the last one in, and she locked the door behind her. She looked around, but couldn't see the Mexican boy, so she began helping with barricading the doors.

Oscar had gone back upstairs to dispose of the walker's body before the herd got too close, and before others in the group saw it and began asking questions. He threw it out the window, struggling. When it finally fell, he eased back into the rest of the group and assisted them with the barricades.

Shortly after, the walkers could be seen getting very close through a crack between boxes put in front of a curtainless window, and they filed upstairs. Sierra had already gone upstairs and found the biggest room with the fewest windows, and she led them all in. Most of them huddled into the large walk-in closet. Ryan and Sierra, however, stayed in the main part of the bedroom, taking occasional peeks at the herd, and remaining ready in case of walkers making it in.

* * *

><p>Hours and hours passed, and it was now raining, obscuring their view of the walkers, but definitely not doing a lot to quiet their haunting moans. Many noises could be heard from downstairs as time passed. Scratches on the walls, some glass breaking. Kelly had fallen asleep after staring at Xavier for hours, contemplating. Quickly, everyone but Ryan was asleep, lulled to rest as the rain beat down on the house. The large main remained attentive, subtly looking out of the windows every few minutes to look for signs of the herd clearing up, as well as keeping his ears trained for just in case the walkers began attacking the house.<p>

Oscar had managed to get Sierra to mostly forget about him dropping her, focused more on guard duty and allowing the boy to get rest. He and many others had moved out of the closet as the night drew nearer, feeling more comfortable and safe in the room.

It was now a quarter to 11:00 PM, according to Ryan's watch. He coughed, and sighed, realizing he was coming down with a cold.

Feet from him, leaned against the wall outside of the closet, Oscar's breath slowly halted.

Only twenty moments later, his fingers began moving. His eyes opened, milky and unknowing. His mouth opened, letting out a small moan that could easily be mistaken for a sigh or a cough. He turned and looked to his right, seeing the steady breath of Shakira, who was lying on her side, and the undead man was inches from her neck before Ryan coughed hard. _Why does this always happen to me?_ the large man thought to himself.

The reanimated corpse of Oscar stood to his feet and made his way to the noise. He opened his mouth, ready for the food, and let out a groan, getting Ryan's attention, who turned to the thin, now deceased, boy, and kicked it in the legs, hoping to make it fall to the ground, but instead, Oscar fell forward and bit right down into the leader's belly, ripping out intestines, tearing into the stomach, eating the ribs, clawing for the lungs, destroying veins. Ryan quickly perished, blood pouring out of his mouth and pooling onto the bed. Sierra, lying on the other side of the bed was awoken moments later, as Oscar's intense growls became louder and the sloshing of Ryan's guts continued.

She opened her eyes and held her breath, using the hand she was lying on to grasp her knife. The other was in front of her, now slightly damp with Ryan's pooling blood. She grimaced and quickly rose, swiftly ramming the blade of her knife into the familiar walker's head. When it was down, she looked to the others and debated what to do. She looked out the window. Walkers were still coming, so she couldn't shoot Ryan, and she couldn't get rid of his body no matter how she put him down.

"Guys," she announced, trying to wake them without being too loud. Those nearest to her opened their eyes, hesitant and groggy. Shakira looked up to meet eyes with a very sympathetic-looking blonde. She was confused at the face Sierra was making, her eyes then suddenly going wide as she saw the scene behind her. Oscar's corpse was lying on the floor next to the bed, a stab wound in his head and covered from nose to chest in blood. On the bed was Ryan, his face barely visibly as he was basically a large lump of red, his guts everywhere around the room, soaking the bed completely.

Everyone began to wake one another up, and they all stood around Ryan's body. Sierra had explained what happened, and what she assumed had caused Oscar to turn. When no one else would, Sierra was the one to put him down, slowly sliding the knife into the large man's head.

They covered their bodies with a blanket and quietly moved into the next-largest room across the hall, where they would try to get more rest. Shakira did not sleep, tears in her eyes the whole night. Gabriel held her, trying to comfort her and get her to rest, but he just ended up falling asleep on her. She didn't mind, though. She was thankful someone cared. She wasn't sure she would ever be able to get over losing Oscar. In her thirty-nine years of living, losing a twenty-year-old she had only known for a few months hurt more than anything else ever had. Losing her parents, her siblings, her friends, her husband. For some reason, nothing could compare to the pain she was feeling now. Maybe it was because of how gruesome it was. Maybe it was because he was her last remaining friend. She still had those she loved around her when she met Oscar, and she easily transferred her love for them into him. Now, she felt so alone. She realized how screwed up she sounded. How awful it all was. She blamed it on the stress, the sorrow, and everything that came packaged in the apocalypse.

* * *

><p><em>Today, I'm uploading TWO chapters! Chapters 29 &amp; 30. I've done this because I've got a lot going on in my life, and in order to keep going, I'm going to have to take a break. I've written to chapter 31, and that's not far enough to be able to keep posting regularly. I have finals coming up and writing the story is quite time-consuming. Further, I've recieved a few complaints that I write too quickly for people to keep up, so this is your chance to catch up.<em>

_I apologize, but fear not, for my next chapter will be out on January 15th! I hope to see you all then. Also, edits may happen to a few chapters if I have time._


	31. Chapter 31: Searching

**Chapter 31 "Searching"**

**Day 93; Group B**

The group awoke early, getting moving quickly. If they stayed there much longer the herd could get them. Who knows what could possibly happen in that situation? Sure, they _may_ be fine, but there's no use in risking it.

"Some of them might be hiding out in that town we tried dropping Abi-Maria off in," Seth suggested.

"You mean Bunker?" Selenis clarified.

"Yeah."

They all agreed that this was a good idea, and loaded up to get off the path and head into Bunker. They drove down the roads of the small town, keeping an eye out for an RV, people on foot, or any signs of movement that weren't walkers. The group had already looted all of the houses of all things, including curtains and most fabrics, so they're sure they would have noticed if some houses were being lived in or used as refuge, and there were no unfamiliar vehicles around, nor could they tell if any of the vehicles around had disappeared. It seemed to be untouched, so they found a house on the outskirt of town to rest in for the night while they planned out their next course of action.

"We could find another place," Seth said. "A bigger, better place."

"With fences," Daniel added.

"Or we could do like my group did," Selenis suggested. "Before we met you all."

"What's that?" Daniel asked, not very familiar with everyone's stories just yet.

"Keep moving," the only woman in the group stated. "Don't get stuck again like we did back there. That's why we got separated. If we were traveling, we'd all still be together."

"Yeah, as undead corpses," Shawn added. "Just because we would have seen them all together doesn't mean we all would have survived. You can't tell me you had less casualties on the road than in a stationary place."

Selenis shrugged. "Well…" she tried. "I guess you're right."

"I say we start looking for them," Shawn declared. "Everyone I have left in the world is out there, and I don't want to just leave them behind; to move on. That's not right, and I couldn't do it."

Robert nodded his head. "I agree."

Greyson remained silent, but nodded, appealing to the leader and the brunet with now quite long hair (Robert) sitting next to him.

"How about we vote?" Shawn suggested, and everyone rolled their eyes.

"We already know who wins," Seth groaned. "But I say, while we search, if we find a nice place like, I dunno, a mall — ooh! Or a prison. Something cool like that. I say we take note of it and come back to it when we inevitably give up." Robert and Shawn glared at Seth. "Come on! I'm just kidding, Jesus Christ."

"So, it's settled?" Selenis asked. "We're searching?"

They all nodded among themselves, and got going. The headed out towards the east, trying to flee the areas the herd could hit if it continues on its path. They arrived in a town called Centerville around thirty minutes later. Seth gritted his teeth at the name of the town. Yet another '-ville.'

* * *

><p>They had been clearing out houses for hours, looking not only for the group, but for supplies and a place to sleep for the night. They had found a lot more food, some miraculously fresh bread that had been frozen, and even managed to kill an owl that was taking refuge in a house they entered.<p>

They had chose between about four different houses, and they decided on a trailer that was on a dirt road, hidden by the forest, and only a block away from the highway.

They made a fire in the fenced back yard and had owl sandwiches.

There was very little space inside of the house, so they were forced to share beds.

Daniel and Seth shared a bed, which gave Daniel very awkward emotions. They both slept fully-clothed and at opposite ends of the bed.

Selenis and Shawn shared a bed, which was just as awkward. Shawn, however, felt comfortable enough to take his shirt off.

Greyson and Robert had the most awkward night of all. Greyson had gotten very comfortable with Robert over the past two days. He had opened up to him about how he misses everyone, and cared for them. They were now lying in the bed, facing away from one another, talking about their new agenda.

"I hope we don't get ourselves into more trouble than it's worth looking for our people," Greyson said.

"We won't," Robert replied. "Any trouble we get into, we can handle. If it's for our _family,"_ he emphasized, "then it's worth it."

Greyson turned to look at Robert. "I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically.

"No, I know what you meant. You don't want us risking our lives for people who could likely be dead already."

Greyson frowned. Robert turned around, and they were facing one another. Things quickly became tense, and Robert reached out a hand, putting it on top of Greyson's, who flinched in response but did not remove his hand.

"Are you okay?" Robert asked Greyson.

Greyson pulled his hand out from Robert's and put it below his head. "Robert, please."

"Please what?"

"Just," Greyson began and turned back around.

Robert scooted closer. "Greyson, seriously, what's the matter? Why do you always open the door but then just kick me out when I reach the steps up?"

Greyson curled himself into a tight ball, knowing Robert was moving closer.

"You don't have to be shy, or uncomfortable, or scared." Robert put a hand on the other boy's shoulder. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Greyson sighed. He wasn't sure what he wanted in this moment, but he was scared. Not of Robert, but of this. Of his own emotions. Of what might happen if he lost Robert after putting all of his love and trust in him.

"If you don't trust me at all, then why are you still here?"

"I do trust you," Greyson said, his voice a high whimper. He felt embarrassed at the squeak he released. He must look like a fool.

Robert smiled slightly to himself at the way the freckled boy replied. "Then what's the problem?"

Greyson shut his eyelids hard, holding back a tear. "Because," he breathed, "I'm afraid of what might happen if I lose you."

The taller boy put an arm under Greyson and pulled him into a hug. "Why would you be afraid of that?"

The freckled one was now crying hard into Robert's chest, struggling to breathe. "Why wouldn't I be?" he sniffled. "We've already lost so many. Everyone we're looking for could be _dead, _and I just don't want to see someone I love — let alone someone that I could fall in love with — die."

Robert smiled. Greyson had finally opened up to him. He knew it wasn't the most appropriate thing to do by smiling, but he felt happy for the first time in a long time. "You can't worry about that," Robert calmed him. "If you're afraid to die, then what's the point in living?"

Greyson's crying continued. He knew that Robert was right, and that he should be letting Robert know that he was feeling better. But this was good. This was the first time he has gotten a chance to cry in an accepting, open environment. If he cried while bunked with Daniel, the older boy would yell at him. If he cried while bunked with one of the others, things would likely get very awkward. It wasn't awkward with Robert, though. For some reason, it was like they had a special bond. He had no idea what it was, but the freckled boy was thankful that it was there.

Robert began stroking Greyson's back, soothing him. Robert realized he knew very little about the boy. He didn't truly understand just why the boy was crying. Who he had lost, what he had done.

"So, Grey, uh…" Robert silenced himself momentarily, not meaning to call Greyson that. He had only ever referred to him as that in his head. He didn't seem to care, though, so Robert continued. "Can we, like, get to know each other? Like, really get to know each other?" Greyson looked up to him with tears in his eyes. The darker-haired boy really didn't like him for personality. It _was_ all just about his appearance. He frowned, but appreciated that Robert was trying, and he nodded. "I mean, I know you think a lot. I know you like to write. Saw you and Patti writing little poems a few days after we moved in. I know you sing,"

"You know I sing?"

Robert smiled. Greyson looked almost shocked. "Well, when you say you're gonna go to the bathroom, I know that sometimes you sneak off to sing."

Greyson blushed and wiped away the remaining tears from his face. "How?"

"Well, y'know," Robert began, and tried to come up with a lie. How would Greyson take Robert following him out to the woods, or pressing himself against the door? It was only slightly because of how much he liked Greyson. The biggest reason was that he suspected Greyson to be suicidal or depressed.

"Am I just loud?" Greyson asked, breaking Robert's attempts at forming a lie. "Does anyone else know?

Robert pounced on the handout. "Kinda," he said. "Lyrik, Patricia, Selenis, and Beth know, but that's how it is with friends," Robert chuckled as Greyson's blush remained, his eyes growing wider. "Sorry. It's just, I liked your voice. So I told them I heard you singing, and they thought it was cute. So do I."

Greyson awkwardly looked away, breaking eye contact. "Is that all you know about me?"

"I know that it was you, Daniel, and uh...Amy, was it?"

"Amber," Greyson corrected, remembering his dear friend.

"Right, sorry. It was you three when Ryan and his people met you."

Greyson nodded. "That it?"

"I know that you and Amber were close. And that losing her affected you a lot. You hate peanut brittle, and so do I. Your favorite artist was Lady Gaga, and she was mine, as well. You love..."

Greyson stared off at the wall, his eyes glazing over as Robert listed the things he knew. The freckled boy acknowledged that Robert knew more about him than he expected, but he couldn't take his mind off of Amber. She was his best friend, and though she wasn't strong, or smart, or brave, he missed her more than anything. She was no use in this world, but in the old one she was everything to him. She was the funniest person he knew. When he came out to his parents on his eighteenth birthday, it was her who comforted him, reminding him that people still loved and cared for him. She gave him a place to stay when he lost his job and ran out of money.

"So what do you know about me?" Robert asked, finally pulling Greyson away from his thoughts.

"Um," he began, thinking. "Your birthday is in October, so you'll be nineteen in the next couple of months."

"If the calendar's right," Robert smiled. "Wait, when's your birthday?"

"Middle of August," Greyson smiled weakly.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Robert said as he raised his hand in front of the other boy, his eyes wide. "Not only did we pass your birthday without you telling us, but you're _older than me?"_

Greyson's smile was now genuine. "Well, y'know," Greyson said, imitating Robert's words from earlier, highlighting that they both know something the other didn't.

Robert smiled at him and pulled him closer into a hug. "That it?" Robert imitated Greyson's prodding.

"You said you know I sing," Greyson smiled deviously as Robert nodded. "Well, I hear you talking to yourself sometimes."

The embarrassment Greyson had felt was now coursing through Robert. He pursed his lips as he stared at the younger boy. "Hell," he said. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." Greyson shrugged in return. "You haven't, uh, heard anything, have you?"

Greyson's smile became devious once more. "Maybe."

Robert laughed. "Well, whatever you heard, I'm sorry you had to listen in on that...craziness."

Greyson nodded. "Well," he said, "I did hear one thing. About how you also lost your best friends. I think you said their names were Lily and LaRissa. Both really early on."

"Too early," Robert frowned. If one of them were here right now, things would be so much easier for him. He wouldn't be as much of a wreck. Things would feel more familiar. He would have a close, friendly, trustable voice beside him, helping him make his decisions in this new world, and keeping him sane. Now, everything was so surreal. This all felt like a dream, or like a big joke. He didn't know if anything even was real, but he had to try. Reality or not, he's not messing up his life by giving up.

"You love the rain. The way it hits tin roofs. You love coffee. Puppies, but not dogs. Cats in all ages. Pokémon. Television. Internet." Greyson was reminded of something he had been told about Robert and the internet, and it made him think of a conversation that had began about Robert because of that. "And, according to Lyrik, you're versatile."

"Woah, what? Do you even know what that means?"

Greyson smiled. "That you like to give _and_ receive."

Robert shrugged. He couldn't, and wouldn't, deny it. "That's true… Did Lyrik teach you that word, or..?"

"No," Greyson said. "I knew. She just said 'vers.'"

"So, you _are_ gay?"

"Well, yeah. I guess."

"Why didn't you tell me? You told me you weren't. I thought I was joking around with a straight guy. I mean, the way you acted sometimes, I was pretty sure you were at least bi, but like. I didn't know I had an actual chance with you."

"Well, it looks like you do." Greyson grinned and raised his head, their lips meeting, having their first kiss. It was light, and there was no tongue, but it lasted for a few moments, and they both pulled away feeling overwhelmed with feelings that seemed alien now.

They remained in one another's arms, and both nearly fell asleep.

On the verge of passing out, Robert beckoned to the other boy, both of their eyes closed as they were cuddled within one another.

"So, are we…?"

"I've realized life's too short, Robert. I'm willing to take the risk."

"Yes?"

"Yes."

* * *

><p><em>Really big whoops! I know I'm late. I said I would publish on the 15th, but it was quite busy and before I remembered I had to publish this, I was in bed nearly asleep! Then, I pretty much just forgot about publishing it on<em> this_ site.__ So here we go, as promised, the return of ZPS-14!_


	32. Chapter 32: Back

**Chapter 32 "Back"  
><strong>**Day 93; Group C**

After the herd that passed through last night, and the loss of Ryan and Oscar, the group was very shaken up. They were unsure of nearly everything. They didn't know what to do, where to go, what to think, who to turn to, or even what anything meant anymore. Lost and confused, no one willing to step up the plate, Sierra stood before them and declared herself the leader.

It was a bit shocking, seeing her pull herself from the sidelines and thrust herself into a position of power. It wasn't entirely unexpected that she would one day go on to lead them, but they much more expected it to be Xavier. He had always been the more talkative, leaderly of the two. They even assumed he was the leader when it was just he, her, and Ron.

"Any objections?" she demanded. No one spoke up. Xavier fidgeted, but Kelly tightened her grip around his arm, and he decided it would be best to not focus his attention into two places; love and leadership. No one was upset about her taking leadership, either. They were lost, and they definitely needed guidance. Sierra was a good, strong person. She handled the deaths of Ryan and Oscar well, and was definitely capable of keeping them safe, they thought. Asking for a leader better than she at this time would be impossible madness.

She nodded her head, and led them downstairs. It was a wreck. The front door had been torn off of its hinges and a few walkers were meandering about inside of the house and growled, making their way forward, when they took notice of the group. Sierra looked to Xavier, Gabriel, and Otis, and they quickly put them all down.

They exited the building and the herd was nowhere in sight. Looking to her watch, Sierra saw that it was about 6:00 A.M.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Gabriel asked the new leader.

"We could do two things. We could move on, or we could go back."

"Go back?" Kelly questioned. "Like, to the house?"

"Yeah," Sierra said, "the herd went the opposite way, so we can head back there and get any supplies that are left. If it's in good enough condition, though I don't think that uh…" Sierra said, looking to the house they had been in last night. "If it's still livable, though, we could pick up where we left off. If that seems like a good idea… Or, we could go back just for a car we left."

"What if we just move on?" Shakira asked, looking badly shaken up. Losing Oscar was definitely not a fun experience for her. Her best friend was now gone. And it all could have been so easily prevented.

"Well, then we could follow the herd, but I don't think that's smart. Or we could go east or west. Start looking for everybody. Or, maybe just...you know. Keep surviving. Get back out there and maybe find a new place to stay."

"So, what? Are we going to do whatever you say?"

"No. Not with something like this. For decisions like this, we're a democracy. So we vote. Raise your hand if you think we should head back."

Everyone looked among themselves. Kelly was the first to raise her hand, hoping that maybe Patti _did_ make it, since the only 'witness' to her death was Oscar. Gabriel, Amanda, and Otis followed, then Xavier hesitantly did, as well.

"All opposed?" Sierra asked as she rose her own hand, and Shakira did, too. Clearly outnumbered, the blonde nodded to the Spanish girl consolingly. "We're movin' out, then. Let's go."

* * *

><p>They had been walking for hours, headed back north. Sierra led them through the strangely quiet forest. There had been no walkers at all in the three hours they walked, and it seemed odd. The only thing they found were the corpses of walkers they had put down previously.<p>

"So, you think all the stray walkers joined up in that herd?" Gabriel asked to anyone who would answer.

"That's how herds are formed," Xavier stated. "I'd assume they did. Makes things easier for us, though, doesn't it?"

Gabriel made a faint chuckle. "I guess so, yeah."

After a few more hours of walking, and after a few more breaks, Kelly decided. She looked back in the direction they had been walking from, towards the house they had stayed the night in. She grabbed Xavier's hand, which took him off guard.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I don't want to be afraid to be alive," she told him.

He made a very confused face. "Uh…"

"I want to be with you. If you still want us to be together, I'm there."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I could ever be," she said and stopped, standing on her tip-toes to kiss him on the lips.

Gabriel, Otis, and Amanda smiled and made whistling sounds as they passed by, and Xavier and Kelly grinned into their kiss, and they pulled away from each other smiling. Kelly gripped his hand once more, and they continued walking.

* * *

><p>They made it to the river just south of the house and could see the second house from there. The three vehicles were still there, including one of the gas cans they had dropped when the herd got too close and they were forced to flee. It was half-full; Gabriel shoved it into his bag to use later.<p>

Sierra checked her watch as they finally got a good look at the ruined house. It was 11:08 A.M. The house looked terrible, blood and corpses everywhere. Everything was dirty and trampled, and doors and windows were broken. The front door was off of its hinges, lying in the living room where it once stood. The garden was a mess, and nothing was left aside from scattered gardening supplies and dead plants, which made Otis put a hand over his mouth, thinking about what could have happened to Patricia.

"Patricia definitely made it out," Kelly said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"How would you know that?" Otis said, staring at the calamity before him.

"Because the RV's gone," she smiled. "They made it."

They didn't want to speak up, but many of the group saw the flaw in that logic. They could have all perished and any poor fool could have come up and stole the RV, unaware of anything that had happened.

Inside, it was completely looted, and there were no supplies. There were walkers that had been put down all over the floor. Clearly, someone had been here after the herd.

"Fuckin' looters," Xavier said, pissed that they had come all the way back in search of something, but ended up with absolutely nothing.

"Could be the group we sent out to scavenge," Sierra stated. "May have come back, didn't know what happened, grabbed up what they could, and now they're...well, doing s_omething._ Could be searching for us. May have just given up and moved on. Found new people."

"I don't think Shawn, Selenis, and Robert would just give up like that," Gabriel said. "If they're out there, they're looking for us."

"If they're looking for us, we should stay here," Kelly suggested. "Wait for them."

"Are you kidding?" Otis said, giving her a look as though she were stupid. "A, we can't stay here. Look at this place! We ain't gonna make it here like this. B, why would they come back? Why would they _consider_ coming back? The state of this place, they wouldn't think anybody'd come back an' fix it back up. I don't know 'bout y'all, but I'm not stayin' here. We need to go."

"And do what?" Sierra asked calmly.

"Survive! This, this here," he gestured to the wreck of a room they were standing in, "ain't survivin'. I say we start lookin' for everyone."

"And where do you suggest we start?"

"Anywhere but here! We could head out towards Bunker, maybe. Start lookin' around everywhere, all the towns 'round here."

Sierra lifted a brow. "Otis, we don't even have a car. We made it here on _foot_. We can't be out in the woods, exposed to god knows what, forever."

"Then we _find_ a car. We keep moving until we get a good vehicle or two and we get out there."

Sierra looked around the room, hoping to have someone back her up, but no one would meet her eyes, and some were pursing their lips or looking off into the distance, avoiding conflict. _Cowards,_ she thought to herself. "Okay, Otis… I want to find everybody just as badly as anyone else, but going out there, running around blindly, and clinging desperately to the hope that _someone_ made it out alive from this, is…" she paused to consider her words — stupid, idiotic, nonsensical, suicidal — "risky. We have no fuel, no cars, nothing to go on… On top of that, we have no food, only a bit of water left."

"So your idea is to stay _here?"_ he asked angrily. "For how long? I'm not staying here for any longer than today, and I fuckin' mean it."

The blonde sighed. "Alright. I get it. We aren't staying here. We need to stay here for at least a little bit, though. Get some more water, scavenge for a bit more food. Then we'll go see about getting one of those cars out there working. Maybe head to Salem. But Otis, I'm done arguing. The bottom line is: our priority is surviving. If we run out of water but find Mika's doll on the road, we need to be more concerned about getting water. We can't just take off and load up, combing that road until our mouths are dry."

"And if we hear a scream?"

"That's different. That's more immediate. If we hear a scream, see one of them, anything like that, then we'll go and find them — help them if they need it." Otis nodded. "So you got it?" she asked, and turned to everyone else. "Does that sound good to all of you?" A few people nodded, and Sierra clarified what she meant, hoping more people would agree: "We leave before sunset, start looking for everyone. But that's not our main mission. Our biggest worry should be making sure that we have enough food to go around. That we're sleeping somewhere safe, and preferably warm."

Everyone agreed eventually, and Sierra was pleased that the closest thing she got to a disagreement was Shakira sadly nodding her head. The plan was set, and they got going. They loaded into a car, which was the spaciest option between a small pickup truck and another, more cramped car. Otis and Gabriel sat up front, hoping to give more space to everyone else as they were the largest. Shakira sat in Amanda's lap, and Kelly sat in Xavier's, both of which got window seats as Sierra sat in the center, a clear view out of the windshield.

They drove northward, and into Salem, where the group that had been out scavenging was when the herd hit. The sun was too close to setting, so they pulled over at the nicest house they could find, stretched, and cleared it out to sleep in for the night.


	33. Chapter 33: Family

**Chapter 33 "Family"**

**Day 94; Group A**

It was morning. Things were nice. The weather was warmer than it had been over the past few days, and everyone was thankful for that. Beth sat in the front room of the store, looking out a large window they opened the curtains for when it was daytime. She had been thinking long and hard about something, and she was thinking now was the perfect time. They were in a good place, so the group wouldn't have to deal with this on top of any pain that they may face. If she were to do this at any time, she should do it now. While things were peaceful, and nice, and beautiful, and safe.

She was planning to adopt Mika. Ryan was a distant father, and even though he was probably still out there looking for Mika, Beth wanted to make sure this girl was going to have a parental figure. Ryan could have been gutted by a walker, or murdered by Kelly, or could even be heading the group in their direction as she sat there. She just didn't know. Whatever was going on with him, she didn't know. She couldn't. But she did know that Mika needed a parent to look out for her.

Mika was asleep, and Beth had a plan for how today was going to go. She sat there at the window, awaiting 8:00 AM. When it was finally time, the blonde rose from her seat and went to the back storage room, where they slept. Mika was fast asleep. Beth got down on her knees and gently shook the girl awake. "It's time to get up," she said.

"I don't wanna," Mika groaned, rolling back over.

"Come on, we've got a big day ahead of us."

"Whyyy? Can't I sleep just a few more minutes?"

Beth smiled, and laid down next to the girl. "Alright," she said, snuggling up behind Mika, wrapping her arm around the child. "Five more minutes."

* * *

><p>Later that day, Malcolm, Taylor, Allan, and Patricia were standing around the front room, while Sarita was out in the woods using the restroom and Beth and Mika were in the backyard watching leaves fall.<p>

"So, where did y'all come from?" the buff one asked.

"Georgia," the old blonde replied. "Mostly. Allan and Mika're from Arkansas and Lyrik's from New Mexico, but we all just came from Tennessee, most recently. All been here in Missouri for a long time, though. Little over two months, I think."

Malcolm nodded as he grabbed his long, brown hair and put it up into a ponytail. "We came from Kentucky a...few days ago, I think."

Taylor nodded and told their story. "We were staying with some people we thought were good. They were nice people. Then we found out that they were crazy and just heinous. Any person they met, they killed and looted, no matter who it was. Big strong threat, sad lonely woman, scared lost child, anyone. Me and Malcolm had been together from the beginning, so we got out. We brought Sarita, too, because we knew she was on the same page as us."

"My people came from Arkansas," Allan said. "We came here with our leader, because he was nuts and had two little girls with him. We were afraid for them, so we couldn't just let him take those girls out into the open. Patricia's people found us a while later while they were scavenging."

"Then a herd separated us all, and now it's just us five." Patricia played with her sleeves in the thin brown jacket she was wearing over a stained red shirt.

"Little girls?" Taylor asked. "Is Mika one of this crazy guy's daughters?"

"Yeah," the thin man said bluntly.

"I thought she was, uh," the buff man began, and paused, forgetting Beth's name, "um…that blonde girl. Bessy? I thought that was her girl."

"Beth," Patricia corrected. "No, Beth's not the girl's mom. But I think she wants to be."

"Really?" Malcolm asked, slightly impressed that someone so young had a heart big enough to adopt a child. "How old is she?"

"Seventeen," Patricia stated behind a smile, proud of the girl she had watched grow up.

The two new men nodded their heads. "So, how many of you was there?" Malcolm asked.

"Twenty-one," Allan stated, making a few of them lift their brows. "Eight of them were my people. The rest were Patricia's."

"They weren't exactly _my_ people," Patricia shrugged. "But we were all in the same group when we came together with Ryan's group... Allan's leader, I mean."

"So, there was a _lot_ of you," Taylor said, looking moderately surprised. "There's no way you're the only survivors, then."

Allan and Patricia shrugged. "I'm sure at least a handful of them made it," Allan said.

"Six of 'em were out scavengin' when it all happened," Patricia added and looked to the ground, "so I'm sure at the very least they made it."

"One or two of 'em could have died on the mission… Or since then."

"Allan," Patricia glared. She hated talking about people dying. Especially those that she loved. Otis and Shawn were the only people she had left who weren't with her and that she knew from before all of this, and if she lost them or Beth, she'd be lost. Since this began, even, she had found people that she has grown close to that were out there, like Robert, Seth, and Sierra. Finding out that one of them had died would be almost as devastating as losing her remaining family.

"Sorry," he apologized half-heartedly. He was only stating facts. In this world, people die, and constantly. Deluding one's self into thinking that people would be okay no matter what was not only stupid, but harmful.

Malcolm and Taylor looked between themselves, sensing the tension. "I'm sure they're fine," the smaller of the two said. "Me and Taylor have been together since the beginning, and we're both still here."

Allan raised a brow. "Wait, 'together?' Are you guys…?"

"Oh my god," Patricia chuckled, putting a hand on her face.

Taylor's eyes went wide. "No! No, no, no! We're not like that!"

Malcolm laughed. "Speak for yourself," he grinned.

Everyone, including Taylor, gave him a questioning look. "Really, man?"

Malcolm smiled. "Nah," he shrugged. "Not as far as I know… But I'll try anything once," he said, winking to Allan.

Allan's eyes went wide, mirroring Taylor. "Dude, I'm not…"

"Jesus Christ," Malcolm chuckled, "why are you people so gullible?"

The man's laughter was put to a halt as Beth and Mika walked in through the back door, Beth with her hand on the smaller girl's back, leading them in. Beth had a huge smile across her face and she nodded to Patricia, who smiled and put a hand to her heart in response, knowing Beth had succeeded. She walked over to the two, and the three blondes of different generations shared a warm hug as Sarita walked in behind them.

* * *

><p>Beth and Mika had got up early that morning, and they went out to the benches behind the store to look at the leaves fall. Beth had her gun in her holster, now reloaded with plenty of bullets, thanks to the guns Malcolm stole when he left his old group. She had another gun in her bag, just in case something happened and she would have to arm Mika. They were only going outside, but there was no harm in being careful anymore.<p>

"I love fall," Beth said. "It's my favorite season."

Mika smiled and scooted closer into Beth as a cold breeze hit them. "It's pretty," she said.

Beth smiled. "It really is. My mom called it tree snow when I was little."

"That sounds kinda silly," the girl giggled.

"It is silly. My mom liked to make dumb jokes like that."

Mika smiled, thinking back to her mom. "My mommy sometimes said things like that," the girl said. "She'd call rain God's tears, and sweaters were wool hugs."

Beth looked fondly at this girl. She was so innocent, and that needed to be protected. "You know she loved you."

Mika nodded, "I know."

"She's a mom. That's what they're for."

Mika smiled and they turned their focus back to the falling leaves. Beth played with the girl's hair, mulling over whether or not now was the right time. Mika sighed and cuddled closer into the older girl.

"Mika?" Beth finally asked.

"Yes?"

"You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah. I love you, too… Are you gonna run away, too? Like Daddy and Lizzie?"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Beth exclaimed and hugged the girl tighter. "I'd never do that. They'd have to rip me away from you for that to happen."

Mika smiled to herself as she listened. "Promise?"

"Yes," she said. "I promise. Of course. And you can come to me for anything. I'll always be there for you."

Mika smiled. "You're like a momma."

Beth grinned, happy with the way things turned out. "Exactly." They stayed there, watching the leaves fall, and Sarita could be heard approaching the house, stepping on crunchy leaves, from the woods. "We should head in," Beth said, a large smile across her face.


	34. Chapter 34: Steve

**Chapter 34 "Steve"  
><strong>**Day 94; Group C**

It was morning. The group had just awoke, and they were loading up to start scavenging the town. The first place they were going to go to was the grocery store they said the scavengers said they would hit up.

"What makes you think they'd still be there?" Otis asked.

"I don't think they are," Sierra replied. "But this is the only place we're certain they've been. This could at least tell us if one of them died here or something… Maybe."

Xavier nodded. "If they came back and found they place in ruins, they may have come back to stay here."

"I don't think they're dumb enough to stay in a place like that," Otis stated, slightly frustrated. "That's the first place scavengers go."

The argument was dropped and they finished making sure all of their supplies were secure.

* * *

><p>They arrived at the grocery store minutes later and they parked next to a few cars that seemed to be in good condition. Everyone exited the car and stretched, happy to be free from its small confinements even if they were in there for only a few moments. Gabriel took the keys out of the ignition, put them in his pocket, and they all headed towards the store with their guns up and ready.<p>

They entered the store cautiously, Sierra and Otis going in first. There were two walkers around, and Otis recalled Robert's trick. As Sierra took down the two walkers, Otis shot at the ceiling, making a loud clang. After a few seconds with no return, they assumed they were safe and split into two groups of two and one of three to search the building.

After half an hour of unsuccessful searching, they decided to call it quits. "There ain't shit here," Otis said. "And clearly, if the scavengers ever made it here, they cleared it out a _long_ time ago."

They met back at a pair of doors that led to the side of the building, and they walked out, headed back around to the front. Sierra froze them, and put her gun up. There was a man in the car. It was unclear what he was doing, but he seemed to be hotwiring it.

"Damn good thing I took the keys," Gabriel said quietly as they all raised their guns at the stranger, following Sierra's lead.

"Stop what you're doing!" Sierra yelled when everyone was prepared.

The man looked up, revealing bright blue eyes on a long, triangular face, framed by curly blonde hair. He seemed to be quite strong, though his cheeks were very sunken in. Clearly, he had gone hungry for some time now. His face read anger at first, as though he would retaliate. That was quickly drained from his face, though, as he realized there was seven people standing in front of him, each with a gun trained on him. He gulped, and put his hands up in acquiescence. "Don't kill me!" he yelled, looking among them.

"Why shouldn't we?" Xavier yelled, trying to intimidate the man.

"Because he was only trying to get a ride," Otis shrugged to Xavier. "Didn't hurt nobody." Xavier gave Otis a furious look, who said "Oh," understanding that Xavier was just trying to scare the stranger into complying.

The blonde man felt eased. They were not going to kill him. _These people are some of the good ones, _he decided. "Because you wouldn't kill strangers for no reason," he said. "I'm just looking for a ride to get out of here. Look for food. I didn't know this was y'all's, though. It just looked like it was used most recently," he shrugged, gesturing to the other cars with dust and grime collecting on them.

They all looked among themselves, silently asking what should be done. "Bind him," Xavier said. Sierra nodded, and look to the others. They all seemed to be on board. Gabriel tossed Sierra a rope, and they all headed for their car. Everyone but Sierra had their guns trained on the blonde man as they walked to him.

"You put your arms down, we'll shoot them off for you," Sierra threatened. "Then we'll be sure you can't do it again."

The man chuckled. "Alright," he complied. Just because they were good does not mean they won't protect their own. It does not mean they would take any risks. They made it to him, and Sierra opened the door. Xavier grabbed the man by the hair, and pressed him onto the car. "You a cop?" the stranger asked as Sierra took the rope and bound him at the wrists, then used the excess to tie around his torso and arms, even further confining him from resisting.

"Nope," Xavier replied. "Just played one on TV once."

"Wow," he said. "You famous?"

Xavier half-frowned. "More famous than you, I bet."

"I'll take that as a no," the blonde laughed.

The man was now tied up, and Sierra turned him over to face them. She reached into his pockets, finding a gun. She checked it. Three bullets. In his other pocket was a rusty dagger, stained with blood, presumably belonging to walkers. "Firstly," she said, "you're going to tell us your name."

The stranger paused, being reassured they were good people. If they were bad, they wouldn't have asked him name. Bad people didn't like to humanize their victims. At least, the ones he'd encountered hadn't. "Steve," he said.

"You thought about it," Sierra said. "Are you lying to me?"

"No," the blonde said.

Sierra gave him a prying look, trying to determine whether she was being lied to. "Well, Steve," she eventually said, "you're coming with us. Hungry?"

The man nodded. "Starvin'."

She looked back behind her to Amanda. "Give him some of those berries we picked the other day."

"But," the stoner began, unsure of whether or not they should be feeding a stranger.

"You heard me," Sierra said. Amanda frowned and grabbed a handful of berries from the small pocket on the side of her bag, and she handed them to Sierra. The blonde woman looked to the man with the berries in her hand. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," he said, opening his mouth wide as Sierra pushed them into his mouth.

"Don't eat 'em all at once," the leader said. "If you haven't eaten in a while, you're gonna make yourself sick."

Steve nodded, slowly chewing them and swallowing them one at a time.

Sierra watched him eat, and she turned back around to everyone else. "This car won't do," she stated redundantly. "It could barely hold us, and now we have a prisoner." Steve raised a brow, being referred to as such, and he felt a bit worried. "Xavier, you're gonna watch this guy here. The rest of us, let's go search this lot for a bigger, actually usable vehicle."

Xavier nodded, and pushed Steve off of the car as they all split up into smaller groups to find a new vehicle. He led the prisoner to a wall of the grocery store that was in the shade, where he could watch the others and the stranger at the same time. "Sit down," he told the blonde, who was already trying to scoot down the wall, only able to use the wall and his back for balance.

"That's what I'm trying to do." When he finally sat down, he looked up to the brunet man. "So, what's y'all's story?"

Xavier looked to the prisoner, lifted a brow, and looked away, watching everyone do their jobs, keeping an eye on his family.

"Alright, then," Steve said and they remained silent for a while. "My name's Steven Perilloux. I'm from North Dakota. I love German Shepherds. I was with a bunch of friends in this place called Wellington for a while, until I decided to leave it to find my family. I regret that a _lot._ Went back up to Dakota. Found my parents shot dead in their own home. It was obvious they didn't do it themselves…"

Xavier looked to the man and shrugged. "Uh," he interrupted. "Is this...necessary?"

Steve smiled. "It humanizes me. Shows you I've been through shit, too. That I'm struggling just like y'all. So yeah, it's necessary."

Xavier gave the man a questioning look, and looked to the road. He met eyes with Sierra, who was sitting in a moving truck and talking with Kelly. "Continue," he said, curious about this guy's story.

The blonde man chuckled. "Alright. Let's see. So, I left. Tried to get back to Wellington. But someone jacked my ride. I had to continue on foot, so obviously I got lost. Spent a long time out there all alone. I met some good people, but they died trying to help me out. Most of the people I met were bad, though. One guy shot all of my friends up, saved me for last. I had to kill him with my bare hands. I went back to Wellington, but I couldn't do it. I could see the walls, but I just… I wasn't ready. So I left. Been out on the road for almost two months now. I kinda wanna go back, but… I don't know."

Xavier shrugged, but took a mental note of the place Steve mentioned. If it were still running, they could be safe there. "Well, looks like you're not gonna be going anytime soon."

Steve chuckled. "Yeah. Looks like it."

* * *

><p>Gabriel and Shakira were going around the parking lot and surrounding roads and houses, siphoning gas out of all of the vehicles they could, including the car they came in.<p>

Otis and Amanda were searching vehicles in the lot and trying to get vans and large trucks to work, but were having very little luck.

Sierra and Kelly had spotted a large moving truck in the road, slightly hidden by large bushes and a willow tree in front of the store. Sierra went to the front, trying to start it as Kelly searched the back for unwanted vacants and supplies.

In the trailer in the back of the moving truck, Kelly had found a single walker. It smelled foul, and was tied to a chair. It was grotesquely thin. Clearly, he was left for dead. Kelly frowned as she used a machete to put it down. "Sick bastards," she said, thinking about the people who did this to the man.

She left the trailer, the only things to find in there being furniture. She went around the front, where Sierra was still trying to get the vehicle to start using the wires. "I found a walker," Kelly said. "Put it down." Sierra nodded, busy with the wires. "Someone tied it up and left it to die."

The blonde looked up to meet eyes with the purple-haired girl, the wires in her hands inches apart from one another. She frowned. "If you're worried about it, you should know we're not going to do something like that to Steve. Not unless he gives us a reason to."

"Not even then," Kelly said. "That's no way to treat someone."

"Kelly," Sierra tried to reason with her, "you… What if he hurts one of us? What if he kills Xavier?"

Kelly looked to the ground. "Then we kill _him._ We don't leave him to die."

Sierra nodded. "If that's the way you feel, then fine. No torture." She looked over to Steve, who was talking with Xavier. "Besides," she said, "you don't know. Maybe he was just being punished for something, and they were forced to leave him. Like suddenly, a herd came through. Not every atrocity you see is the worst outcome you can imagine. Maybe he was a hothead, or had a muscle problem, or something. Accusing the people who did that to him is only spitting in their wound."

Kelly nodded. "I guess."

Sierra drew her focus back to the wires in her lap. She put the wires together once more, and the engine of the truck roared to life. The girls smiled to one another. Sierra turned the truck off and sent Kelly to get Otis and Amanda. The four began moving the furniture out of the back, including the chair with the walker on it. The only thing that they left was a very heavy couch and a few mattresses.

When it was ready, they went for Xavier and Steve, then found Gabriel and Shakira, who proceeded to dump most of the gas they had found into the truck.

"There's nothing for us here," Sierra said solemnly. Everyone loaded into the back, while Sierra and Otis sat up front, driving the truck out of Salem and towards the south-west, with a new prisoner in tow.


	35. Chapter 35: Math

**Chapter 35 "Math"  
><strong>**Day 95; Group A**

The group had had an easy time the past few days. Things here were peaceful. This trio was good, and most importantly, they were strong, which was exactly what the group of five needed. They were quite mostly unskilled in defending themselves, other than Lyrik's talent at shooting and Allan's mostly good survival techniques. These new people were skilled with being out in the open, and were around to lend a great hand to those in need of training and guidance. It didn't hurt that they were all quite attractive. The girls all found themselves thinking about Malcolm and Taylor often. Inversely, Sarita saw Allan's pain and anger, and she was attracted to him and wanted to help him.

They all sat in the kitchen, eating their lunch: a beaver Taylor had caught that morning, with canned peas and corn on the side.

"How did you find a _beaver?"_ Beth asked, amazed.

"These two catch all kinds of things," Sarita said, biting into the meat she held with her only hand. She chewed, and continued to speak with a full mouth, "Once they even got a fox."

"Which one managed that?" Patricia asked, looking to Taylor, expecting him to be the one.

"Malcolm did," Sarita stated, going back into her meat for another bite.

Patricia and Beth's eyes went wide as they looked over to the man with a ponytail. "Really?" Beth questioned.

Taylor smiled as Malcolm shrugged. "Man," the built one said, "you ain't gotta be so modest."

Malcolm laughed. "It wasn't that big of a deal," he said. "It was already injured. I found it limping. I think it broke its leg or something."

"Was it bit?" Allan asked.

"No, it wasn't bit," Malcolm said, shaking his head. "Even if it was, that was like a week or two ago. If it was gonna do something to us, it would have done it by now."

Allan shrugged. Patricia was reminded of Otis, with how much these two hunted. "So, you're hunters?" Allan asked, earning a look from Patricia.

"Well, y'know," Taylor said, "I'm a country boy. I grew up kicking around the woods, ridin' dirt bikes, playin' football, climbin' rocks and all that good stuff, so that's always been fun. My dad used to always take me out huntin' and stuff."

Patricia smiled slightly, reminded of how she first met Otis. They were in high school, in neighboring small towns outside of Atlanta. They were sports rival towns; Otis was from Senoia, and Patricia was from Luthersville. Otis had been tracking down a bear that killed his pet dog for hours, and he ran into Patricia, who was headed out to clean the farthest well on her father's farm. He shot a squirrel that had run past her legs and she got freaked out over it. He took her out to the local diner to make up for it. They ended up spending the whole day together, playing in the creek that separated their towns and helping Otis to clean and properly store the animals he had hunted. When the time came, Otis's dad was kind enough to drive her home.

Patricia came back to her senses and looked around the room to realize that she was crying in front of everyone. She feigned a smile and wiped a tear off of her face. "Are you okay?" Sarita asked.

Patricia nodded her head, still smiling. "Yeah," she assured them, "yeah, I'm fine."

Sarita looked to the others, silently asking for a bit of privacy, before she moved next to the older woman. "You know," she began as everyone left the room or pretended to busy themselves — other than Beth and Mika, who remained with the two — "I know you've heard it a lot, but they're all probably out there," she smiled, her voice soft and tender with compassion.

Patricia couldn't stop the tears from falling, and she didn't care about concealing it anymore. There was no use. Beth grabbed onto her hand, offering the upset woman comfort as her eyes looked on with love. Patricia smiled, genuinely this time, as she saw these three girls there for her, caring enough to comfort her. "I'm sure they are," Patricia said in response to Sarita, "but I can't help but worry. Can't help but feel like...like, maybe, Shawn…or Otis…" Patricia sniffled and couldn't bare to finish her sentence. "Or anyone, really…"

The Indian woman half-smiled, knowing exactly how Patricia felt as she recalled what had happened with her boyfriend, Burton, and many of their friends. "That's completely understandable," she said, grabbing Patricia's other hand, mirroring Beth. "I felt the same way when Burton left on that last run. They were gone for so long, and I was so worried."

Patricia tightened her grip around Sarita's hand as a tear dripped off her face, making a wet spot on her light blue blouse. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring back all of that."

"No, no, no," Sarita reassured her. "That's perfectly fine," she smiled. Her face became more serious, though, as she stared into Patricia's watery eyes. "But I need to tell you something. And I don't want to, but you need to hear it." The three other females looked at the darker woman, slightly confused. The elder blonde nodded her head hesitantly, urging Sarita to continue. "I'm not assuming anything, and neither should you, but you need to consider every outcome. You _can't_ keep hoping against hope, because...the reality is, some of them could be dead. All of them could be dead. Even Shawn... Even Otis. But truthfully, with every death, it gets easier."

Patricia knew Sarita was right. There's a chance that the majority of them didn't make it. More tears fell, and her breathing began to falter, but she remained focused on Sarita. She understood that the younger woman was trying to help her, to comfort and prepare her. "I know," she said, her voice wavering.

"I know that seems really morbid, or mean," Sarita said, taking in the mostly stoic face Patricia was returning to her, "but I just want you to realize, you may never see them again." The elder nodded her head again and loosed her hand from Sarita's. She wiped at her damp face, trying to remain composed. "I want you to be able to keep going. Because I nearly couldn't. I kept hoping, and hoping, and hoping; convincing myself that Burton would be back, and he'd be okay, and everything would be great. They were gone for nearly two weeks, some of our strongest men. Told me he had gotten bit right after being the one to find the medicine I needed, and he made them leave him behind to turn. When I found out he was dead, after convincing myself he would make it, honestly, I wanted to kill myself. I even tried it once. Sean — uh, one of our doctors — put me on antidepressants, and eventually I moved on. Still have a few left, too, for when I'm feeling low. I know a lot of people hate them, but they did me right. Or maybe it was my own strength. But either way, if you need some, you're welcome to them."

Patricia had stopped crying now, composed once more. Her hand had returned to Sarita's, and she looked down to the girl's missing hand, and then to Beth's missing fingers. She sighed, and awkwardly accepted the offer, with a "Thanks."

Sarita's face flashed of embarrassment. "I'm sorry, I got kind of off-track… My point is, I just want you to be ready to move on. Don't give up hope, but don't cling to it. And if it does turn out that Otis, or any of the other people from your group are gone, you'll be okay. I promise you that. We're all here for you, and we all love you. Look at these girls," Sarita said kindly, directing Patricia's attention to Beth and Mika, who smiled warmly to the old girl. Patricia smiled and leaned forward to kiss them both on the forehead. "We're all here for each other, and that's the way it's going to stay. If you can make it through this, you can make it through anything."

* * *

><p>Later that night, after dinner, Malcolm had went outside to the back porch, as he often did at night. Beth noticed and followed him, curious, leaving Mika under Patricia's watch. As she stepped onto the wooden porch, she slowly and quietly closed the door behind her, but Malcolm heard her anyway.<p>

"What's wrong?" he asked tensely, not expecting someone to have followed him out.

Beth raised a brow and smiled at the brunet. "Nothing," she said. "Why would there be?"

"I dunno," the man said, relaxing. "No one ever comes out after me, so I just thought something might've happened."

"If something was wrong, I wouldn't be slippin' out of the house all calm like that."

Malcolm chuckled and they shared a smile. "I guess you're right." The blonde stood beside Malcolm, joining him in his pondering. He went back to his original position of watching the neighborhood and treeline, and Beth followed suit. "Do you need something?" he eventually asked.

Beth looked into his eyes, and they stared at each other for what felt like days. Beth had nearly forgotten Malcolm had even said something when a walker could be heard approaching, stepping on leaves noisily. Malcolm chuckled as they broke eye contact and scratched his neck, embarrassed at how awkward that had just gotten. "Wow," Beth said.

"Wow what?" Malcolm asked as he slipped a machete out from his toolbelt.

"That was weird," she laughed.

Malcolm coughed, "Yeah," he said as he jumped off the porch and began approaching the walker, "I guess it was." He grabbed the walker by the shirt and pulled it near him as he jabbed the knife into its skull. Almost instantly, it fell limp and the toned man pushed it off of his blade, blood pouring sickly out of the hole in its forehead. He backed up, wiping some blood splatter off of his face and headed back towards Beth, who was grimacing at him as she rested her arms on the railing. "Never get used to the smell, do you?"

"No," Beth said in detest. She shivered and rose from her slouched position and turned to sit at the bench she had sat in with Mika the day before.

Malcolm sat next to her and noticed how cold the blonde was, her skin cool to the touch as she clung to herself, and impulsively wrapped an arm around her before he realized she had become still from shock. He looked to her, and she remained looking forward, her eyes quite large.

She turned her head to his, and their eyes met. "Thanks," she said softly.

"Are you okay?" Malcolm besought.

Beth eased slightly. "Yeah," she stated as she made a curt nod. "It's just really awkward."

Malcolm laughed, finally settling Beth, and issued her a quick, "Sorry," as he removed his arm from around her.

Beth smiled back to him. "I didn't say I didn't want it," she said coyly as she moved his arm back into place, causing them both to burst into laughter.

Malcolm moved closer as their laughter died, and their eyes locked. They slowly began inching towards one another, their lips coming closer and closer. Then, rustling was heard from the bushes and two walkers, one a small girl, appeared from the brush. The almost-kiss was awkwardly broken as Malcolm pulled from her and headed towards the walkers. He took them down with relative ease, and when he turned back, she had gone. He sighed as he headed back inside for the night.


	36. Chapter 36: Lesterville

**Chapter 36 "Lesterville"  
><strong>**Day 95; Group B**

Hopeless. That's how Robert was beginning to feel about finding everyone else. Hopeless. They hadn't found anything around other than signs of death and depression in Centerville. Hopeless. Houses boarded up, filled with walkers; others burned to ashes. Hopeless. Stop signs and windows painted over with messages searching for loved ones. Absolutely Hopeless.

The group that had been formed because of a scavenging mission had been in Centerville for more than enough time, they felt. They had searched the entire town, desperate to find those they lost; anyone, even. But alas, no one was there. The town was empty, other than some supplies and food they had found in houses.

After the group of six ate, they repacked their supplies into the RV, along with all of the stuff they had secured from this town, and headed out, going even farther east. Within half an hour, they were pulling up to a sign. "Welcome to Lesterville!" it read in bright, happy colors, stained with faint blood washed off from the last rain and fresh dirt.

Upon reading the sign, Selenis smiled and called out to Seth to come read it.

"Oh, _hell_ no," he screamed with fury. "If any of our people are hunkering down in this town, I'm punching them right in the damn face!"

Everyone laughed, enjoying how worked up he had gotten.

"I mean it," he threatened, calming down and beginning to join in on the amusement. "They should know better than to hide out in a fuckin' '-ville.' They'd be _begging_ me to crush them," he joked, causing the people in the vehicle to break into small laughs.

* * *

><p>They drove into the town and found a nice little house, invisible from the highway passing through the town thanks to large willow trees and bushes, but still very near to said road. They pulled the RV up into the yard and parked in a way that made it seem like it had crashed, a technique they had nearly perfected.<p>

Aside from Seth, who kept the RV running in case the house was overrun, everyone exited the vehicle, a gun in one hand and a melee weapon in the other. Robert grasped his white-handled machete as they went up the steps.

The house was cleared out easily, only a handful of walkers meandering around the living room. It was a surprisingly small house, being only one room other than the bathroom, but with plenty of space for the survivors to all have their own, individual spaces to rest.

Making sure not to waste daylight, they began clearing out the houses directly surrounding the one they set up. Selenis and Robert remained, keeping watch of the RV and house, while everyone else made sure their temporary home would be safe.

In the surrounding houses, there were many useful things found, much to the group's surprise and delight. Many canned foods, matches, and health products were discovered, as well as things to keep them occupied for when it gets quiet, such as a deck of cards and a few board games.

When night came, Robert and Greyson decided to take a corner and share it, giving the others more room, which had bought them a few smiles or confused looks.

Selenis was pleased that they were beginning to get on well, and gave Robert a huge smile.

Seth and Shawn gave confused smiles, pretending like they didn't know why the two would want to sleep together.

Daniel, though, felt something completely different. He had feigned confusion like the other guys had pulled off, but deep down, he was jealous. He was angry. He was finally seeing what Robert had meant. The others don't care. They hadn't said a single bad thing about Robert or Greyson the past few days.

The pair was still being secretive, acting like they were being subtle when they would touch, or that their kisses couldn't be heard. Seth, Shawn, and he had talked about it together, and they were only concerned that the boys were happy; curious about when they would come out. It made Daniel feel like he had missed out on something. To him, Robert was not _that_ great of a catch, but he still missed out on the opportunity to be happy again.

Certainly, he knew, he wouldn't be lying on the cold floor alone, envious of Robert and Greyson's cuddling, kissing, and almost flaunting of their relationship. He wouldn't be lying on the hardwood floor, hungry for something to do, for someone to talk to.

Shocked out of his reverie, not realizing over an hour had past, Greyson and Robert had began tiptoeing past everyone. Daniel grunted to himself and turned onto his side, fairly certain he knew what they were going to do. He closed his eyes, hating the couple with every fiber of his being, and pretended to be asleep as they crept out the front door.

* * *

><p>Robert and Greyson were sitting in the RV, kissing one another passionately, Robert sitting in Greyson's lap as their lips and tongues interlocked and tangled, colliding and caressing in a wet, hot passion, having been kissing for quite a while now. The older boy slowly pulled out of the kiss and looked into his lover's eyes. "Do you wanna…" he began, unsure of where this was leading.<p>

The freckled boy never broke eye contact, but couldn't pretend he wasn't hesitant. "I, uh," he said, realizing he had taken too long in replying.

Robert simply smiled. "It's okay," he said. "We don't have to rush anything."

Greyson looked off towards the front of the RV, staring at the driver's seat and the wheel. It reminded him of why they were even here in the first place: the herd. It separated him from everyone else, forcing him to finally open up; to start feeling like himself again.

"No," Greyson said. "Let's do it."

Robert pulled back from Greyson a bit. "Uh uh," he said, verbally wagging a finger at his partner. "If you're not ready, you're not ready. Don't do this because you feel guilty or obligated."

Greyson smiled, happy that the older boy was being so considerate. "Robert," he said, making himself very clear, "I want to. Come on." He leaned up to kiss the boy in his lap, and the rolled over onto their side. Robert's eyes were concerned, but soon enough, the hesitation washed away, and the two continued on to make love in the back of the RV.


	37. Chapter 37: Harry Potter

**Chapter 37 "Harry Potter"**

**Day 96; Group B**

Another boring day of searching, Daniel thought to himself. These people need to learn to let things go. Everyone's gone; we're never going to see them again. At least I know I'm not going to see any of them again. We shouldn't be wasting resources by picking through every town we come through. We're blowing through more than we're gaining. He glanced over to the corner of the room, once again occupied by the new couple. The freckled one looked around the room, noticing everyone waking up, and he smiled to his partner, who nodded in return. I'm gonna puke, Daniel thought.

Once everyone arose, Robert and Greyson got to their feet. "We have an announcement," Robert said. Seth and Daniel rolled their eyes, but for very different reasons. "If you hadn't guessed yet, that is," Robert said under his breath with a cough and a laugh.

Shawn gave them a questioning look, finding the scene already a bit too dramatic.

"We're officially dating," Greyson said with a blush, clearly becoming shy.

"We're boyfriends," Robert said, grabbing the younger boy's hand.

Selenis began clapping, and everyone else followed, even Daniel, who did it begrudgingly so. The only female in the room rose to her feet as well, and hugged them both.

Shawn didn't know what to say, but nodded and said, "Uh, good for you guys," to which Seth indignantly added, "Yeah."

Daniel didn't congratulate them in any way, other than a distant nod, which struck Greyson as odd. Robert gritted his teeth as he looked between the two, Greyson confused and Daniel clearly seething. Obviously, there were bridges that needed to be mended. Things that needed to be discussed. If he absolutely had to, he would burn Daniel's bridge to ashes.

* * *

><p>As the day progressed, shortly after breakfast, they began searching through the town, reusing techniques they had developed from searching Bunker and Centerville. They would split into groups, as determined by drawing straws, and search sections of the town depending on how big it was. This particular town, Lesterville, was quite small, so it was decided the group would split into two groups of three, one group searching the northern and western areas, while the other rummaged through the southern and eastern half.<p>

Using a deck of cards they had found in a neighboring house cleared the day before, they drew for numbers. The three highest would be in one group, and the three lowest would form the other; ace being high, of course. Seth drew first, getting a nine of spades. Selenis then drew, getting an Ace of hearts. Robert drew, getting a two of hearts. Greyson followed who got a two of clubs, and the boyfriends smiled at one another gleefully, causing Daniel to stifle a gag. Shawn drew next, drawing a five of diamonds. Finally, Daniel drew, and couldn't hold back the disappointment in his face as he drew a 4 of spades.

With the highest cards, Shawn, Selenis, and Seth became a group, and would search the northern and western half of town, while Daniel, Robert, and Greyson would take the other half.

They loaded up the RV with all of their stuff, ready so that they could just take off for the next town when they were finished looting the town. Eight bags were emptied, giving each group a bag per individual, plus an extra if they needed it.

"Anybody feel a particular way about where we'll go?" Seth asked.

Everyone shrugged, not caring very much about what side of town they would take.

"Well, we drew high," Selenis said, trying to get this sorted. "So let's go north. Those who drew low go south." And so it was decided.

* * *

><p>Seth drove the RV to the farthest point down south in the town, where he dropped off the gay boys. The plan was they would both start at the farthest ends of the side of town they were assigned to, and then reconvene at the house they had stayed in the night before, which was in the center of the town.<p>

Selenis remained quiet, silently praying to herself at the table as Seth drove. Shawn, in the passenger seat, looked back to see her praying, and it reminded him of his father. He sighed, upset at the memory. He recalled how he had nearly punched that same woman in the face when he found out about his dad's death, as well. He pushed the thoughts back, and began praying, too; joining the only woman left in her hope for everything to be okay.

Soon, they arrived at the house farthest north. They parked the RV a ways from it, and began clearing out the farthest houses, working their way back to the vehicle, which they would then get back into, drive farther away, and repeat the process again.

The first handful of houses were a breeze, being mostly cleared by other survivors, apparently — most likely due to the fact they were easily accessible from the outskirts of town, and could be swiftly slipped into for a quick run and then right back into the national forest.

Upon entering the eleventh house, Shawn and Seth felt they had it covered, and asked Selenis to keep watch outside. Begrudgingly, she accepted.

Freakin' men. Just 'cause I'm the only girl left doesn't mean they have to be extra chivalrous to me. Hell, I'm the last girl we have left; that if anything should tell them I'm strong enough to be here.

As she sat on a bench by the street, her eyes keenly observing the RV and all surrounding houses, she soon heard screaming coming from inside the house Seth and Shawn decided to go clear themselves. Smilingly slightly to herself at their incompetence, she quickly rose to her feet, gun in hand, ready to save her foolish comrades.

She entered the houses and immediately saw the problem. Seth had fallen, the stairs collapsing underneath him. He was now wedged underneath the rubble as Shawn struggled to fight off an unexpected large number of walkers coming from all directions, loosed from the basement.

"I'm out!" Shawn yelled as he ran toward Selenis, begging for more ammunition.

"There's more in the RV," she said with surprising calmness as she began firing off rounds into the oncoming undead swarm, aiming mostly at those headed towards Seth.

Quickly, her clip had ran out. She ejected it as she yanked a sharp butcher's knife from her belt. She swung rapidly, taking down walker after walker. Before she knew it, though, two walkers had made it to where Seth had fallen.

He screamed underneath the rubble, desperately trying to free himself, violently shaking his body. He managed to free a hand, but that proved useless. He tried picking up rocks or something larger to use as a weapon against the biters, but he couldn't muster up enough strength to throw the rocks hard enough to damage, or to pick up the larger pieces of rubble.

Selenis remained calm, slicing into the undead brains and quickly terminating them.

As the walker finally fell onto inching for his flailing hand, Seth panicked. "Selenis! Seleniiiiiiiss!" he yelled as loud as he could, fear and desperation soaking his cries.

Then, the walker, who was crawling for his hand, was pulled back, and its head was sliced in half, the top part containing the rotting brains alling beside Seth's head as rotten, sickly blood sprayed across his face and hair, turning his blonde hairs red.

Selenis had taken down the walker with the butcher's knife. She turned around swiftly, getting the final walker who was trying to get at Seth.

Shawn was standing in the doorway, stunned. Selenis back away from the pile of corpses and began picking up the rubble off of the bodybuilder.

"Are you just gonna stand there with your mouth open?" Selenis asked the farmboy.

"Um," he began, composing himself. "No?"

"Then help me out already!" Selenis said with a smile.

* * *

><p>Daniel exited the RV, followed by Robert and Greyson, who were carrying a bag between them. Seth nodded at them and drove off to the far end of the town that his group would scavenge.<p>

After the large vehicle disappeared around the bend, Daniel sighed and turned to the two he was beginning to loathe more and more with every passing second. "Well, come on then," he yelled. "Let's get a move on."

The first house was a breeze, completely empty of all lifeforms, dead or otherwise. A few cans were found unopened, along with a firstful of other moderately useful items.

In the second house, Daniel ran into the two boys multiple times — usually because of Greyson's inexperience and clumsiness or trying to avoid it — infuriating him greatly.

By the fifth house, Daniel was coming unhinged. The boys kissed too much, and Greyson was a bit of a clutz. When Greyson was too clumsy, his oh-so-amazing boyfriend would waste time showing him tricks and trying to help, making Daniel sick.

Eventually, though, Daniel learned to repress his anger. At least, until they got to about their fourteenth house; they had lost count.

They entered, and everything was fine. After the walkers around were cleared, the three separated and Greyson went into the kitchen. When he opened the cupboard, a stack full of plates and mugs fell out, making a loud, banging crash.

Daniel and Robert jumped from the rooms they were in, momentarily scared out of their wits. When they recollected themselves, Robert ran to find Greyson as Daniel looked out the window to see a large crowd of walkers headed their way. He groaned and ran to the kitchen, as well.

"Which one of you idiots did that?!" the oldest boy yelled furiously.

"It was me," Greyson said worriedly, pulling out his gun.

"Well, get your ass out here and help me get rid of these walkers," he screamed as he ran towards the door, his gun at the ready. "This isn't settled yet," he yelled back to the two, having completely lost his composure he had managed to hold the past few days.

The couple looked at each other worriedly, but went out the door as well and quickly began taking out as many walkers as they could. They were in too much of a crowd for the trio to easily go hand-to-hand with the undead freaks, so their only safe option was guns.

Biters were dispatched of quickly, taken down easily shot by shot by the three. Their sick, dirty bodies fell limp on the worn road, nasty brown blood pouring out of them and soaking into the ground, onto the overgrown greenery. The stench hit them like the waves of an explosion, instantly nauseating the men.

When the last walker was taken down, they fled back inside, shielding themselves from the odor.

Daniel hadn't let it go, and was completely enraged. "You little fuck-up!" Daniel spat at the freckled boy, who was now looking quite afraid.

"Daniel, what's wrong with you?" Greyson asked, confused and upset that his last remaining, closest companion from before this all began had become so hostile towards him.

The oldest boy raised his gun at Greyson, and Robert stepped between the two, slapping Daniel's gun out of his hand. "What the fuck are you thinking?!" Robert begged of the crazy man.

"What am I thinking?!" He repeated incredulously, stepping angrily towards the younger boy. "What the fuck are you thinking?!"

Robert took a step back, closer to Greyson, who grabbed onto his boyfriend's hips, holding him closely for comfort. Robert held his breath, knowing what Daniel was about to say and horrified of how Greyson's opinion of him may change.

"You are a disgusting, low-life piece of shit, and you're just using us. First, you go around and sleep with me," Daniel announced with a grin, glaring daggers at Robert, "being a fuckin' nasty slut, begging me to have sex with you."

Robert felt the hand on his hip loosen, falling off. A wave of emptiness hit him, and he all he wanted to do was turn around to Greyson and apologize, but he remained in his position, frozen for fear of what Daniel might do. He kept his lips shut, allowing Daniel to continue his tirade of rage.

"Then, you try and change me to fit the perfect way you want me to be. To fit your pretty little picture. Now, you go right for the only person I have left from before all of this, the only person who knew the real me, and you make him your little play-pretty. And you flaunt his ass in front of all of us, bragging about how in love you two are; rubbing it in our faces that we'll probably never find love again."

Greyson was crying now, his face turned down away from the two. He didn't know he had hurt Daniel like this. He knew it. He knew that Robert didn't really care for him.

Robert remained focused on Daniel, too afraid to turn back to Greyson. Robert subtly reached for his gun, ready to shoot the clearly unhinged madman in front of him. He was gone, and there was no telling what he was capable of doing. "The last thing I tried to do was hurt you, or to rub my relationship in the faces of others."

"Shut up, you liar! I'm forced to be with you two for an entire day, and you can't do me any kindness; you can't show me an ounce of compassion; all you want is me. You want me to become a jealous, horny bastard. Don't you? Don't you, goddamn it?!"

The boy with the white-handled machete stared into the older man's eyes. He gripped his fingers tightly around his gun, ready to aim and pull the trigger. "No," he said quietly.

"Excuse me?" Daniel asked again.

"No," Robert said with conviction.

"Don't call me a fucking liar!" Daniel yelled as he quickly turned to pick his gun up off of the floor.

Robert instantly shot at the gun, nearly blowing off the lanky man's hand. Daniel quickly jumped back, away from the loud bang of Robert's gun, and he fell onto his rear.

"You piece of shit!" Daniel yelled, pulling himself up and clocking Robert right in the face, who instinctively pulled the trigger again, sending a shot flying out of a window as the gun fell out of his hand as he reached for his face in pain. The two fell on the ground, Daniel laying in punch after punch into Robert, who was squirming viciously underneath him, desperately attempting to get out from under the maniac.

Greyson grabbed the gun then, pointing it right at Daniel. "Stop!" he yelled futilely as Daniel continued hurting the younger boy. Greyson shot, blowing out a hole in a cupboard drawer next to Daniel's head.

Frightened, Daniel quit and stared up into Greyson's eyes, begging for forgiveness.

Greyson looked into the man's eyes, shocked. All of the sanity that was once there was gone; he was gone as a person. What had happened to him? What drove him to this? he questioned. He could see Daniel feigning remorse, but it was very off, like he didn't mean it, or he didn't get why what he had done was wrong.

"Get off of him," he threatened to Daniel. When he didn't move, Greyson shot again, this time closer to the madman's head. When Daniel got off, Greyson motioned the maniac to move away with his gun. The youngest man kept his aim as he went to his boyfriend, making sure he was still conscious, or at least alive. Thankfully, he was. He had large welts across his face, blood oozing out of his nose, which Greyson thought might be broken.

Greyson angrily looked to Daniel, then back to Robert. He was still unclear on what the truth was, but he knew that on his watch, no one was going to die or get hurt.

"Go," Greyson demanded Daniel. "Let's get a move on." Daniel seemed confused, but grabbed his gun off the floor. He looked to Greyson, who was still aiming Robert's gun at him, for permission. "Finish searching this damn house," he commanded. "I'm gonna do my best to keep Robert breathing."

Daniel gritted his teeth, but moved on, continuing to search the rooms. He found a door that led downstairs, and looked back to see Greyson cleaning Robert up.

Robert weakly looked to the older man through the doorway. "Grey," he whispered, "you should have killed him."

The younger boy sighed, knowing Robert wouldn't understand his reasoning, and continued cleaning his boyfriend's face.

Wordlessly, Daniel continued down the stairs, which led deep into darkness. He carried on as far as he could before he pulled out his flashlight.

He made it to the landing and shined the flashlight around the room. All around the room were bookcases and retro seats, such as beanbags. He walked to the nearest bookcase and pulled off a book. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," the cover read, depicting a young boy with a lightning scar on his head on a broomstick. He scoffed as he stuffed into his bag, sure someone would want to read it; he certainly wouldn't.

He carried on down the aisles of books, occasionally stopping to grab a book. When he made it to the end, he was disgusted to find a walker tied onto the wall, its arms and legs spread wide open. It was grossly thin, with hair falling off and bones digging through what little skin was left.

Daniel smiled as he walked up to it. "Are you hungry?" he asked the reanimated human, observing its anorexic appearance.

As he untied the walker, he contemplated everything. Maybe he was crazy. He did just try to kill someone. But, still, Greyson let him go. He had no idea why the boy would do that. He had nearly killed the guy's boyfriend, and he had proven himself dangerous. Greyson had the perfect opportunity to put him down, and he didn't take it.

The walker was now free, and he lied down on the ground before it, allowing himself to be taken by the lucky creature. When it took its first bite into his chest, he began to regret his decision as it tore into him, ripping out his guts and swallowing them down into its gross, rotting throat, making a disgusting, wet noise between its moans.

Now, he really regretted it. He was wrong — he had been so wrong. He then realized he had been screaming the whole time as his organs were ravaged, and he felt everything going dark around him; the intense pain fading into blackness.

Greyson bolted down the stairs, the wet rag he had been using on Robert still in his hand, and his own gun in the other. He ran down the aisles, trying to pinpoint Daniel's horrible screams. Making it to the far wall, he covered his mouth with his wrist as he looked at the scene. After taking a moment to process what had happened, he sadly shot the walker, but couldn't bare to put Daniel down. The young man had his gun trained on him, but couldn't find it in him to shoot his friend. What had happened to him? Why did he do this? What the fuck took him so overboard? Was this always a part of him, lying in bitterness beneath his quiet exterior? An insane, hateful, suicidal douchebag? There's no way this was solely Robert's fault.

Then, a hand touched Greyson's shoulder, and he jumped slightly in surprise. Robert had weakly come down the stairs, and was now observing the scene, his gun in hand. He looked to Greyson and nodded. "I told you so," he said as he shot the poor, dead soul in the head.

* * *

><p>As the RV pulled up to the house, the headlights shining through the windows, Robert and Greyson shared a sigh of relief. At least one of them was okay. At least they didn't lose the RV. At least the two boys weren't alone anymore.<p>

Greyson got up and peeked out the window to see all three who they had separated from file out, and he smiled back to his boyfriend. As he looked at Robert's scarred, beaten face, though, the smile dissipated and he went to the door, opening it wide for his friends to come in. They had a lot to discuss.


	38. Chapter 38: Walnuts

**Chapter 38 "Walnuts"  
><strong>**Day 97; Group B**

The group arrived in Ellington, quiet and depressed, grieving the loss of another of their people and feeling the pain Robert was in.

They drove into a road that appeared to be quite safe, Walnut Street; quite an accurate name, as well, since there were many walnut trees along the street, which were quickly picked by the capable members of the group.

Seth, the workhorse he is, began clearing out houses, and never stopped until late in the morning, despite his body feeling weak, and that he now has a limp.

Selenis felt scared of him. It was clear he wasn't a very emotional man; he covered his emotions well. When he felt sad or angry or negative in any way, he would do something to take his mind off of it. He would work endlessly, until he either dropped from exhaustion or forgot about the pain.

Normally, he would go and chop wood, or work on a fire, or practice shooting. Now, he was doing something much more dangerous: clearing out houses, alone.

"We have to get him to quit," Selenis stated.

"Do we, though?" Shawn asked, seeming to almost not care at all.

"Yes," she gestured to the strong man visible through the window in the house across the street, chopping furiously into a walker with an ax. "If he keeps working like that, he'll be exhausted. We can't have people incapable of work. Anything could happen, and you know that just as well as I do."

Shawn sighed. "Well, what about Robert?" he asked, referring to how he was basically now incompetent, currently too damaged to be very useful.

Selenis glared. "That's different. The kid got beat up. He'll recover soon enough; he'll have to. Just give him a few days. It's not like we have a doctor here to help him out. With this, Seth is doing it on purpose. He needs to express his emotions in a healthy way. Savagely beating up biters and tearing through houses isn't a healthy way to do that."

Shawn seemed almost unfazed. "I mean," he began, scratching his head. "He's not hurtin' nobody."

"For now," the strong woman said. "If we lose someone else anytime soon, who knows what he'll do. If he loses, let's say, _you_, his closest friend. Who's to say he won't go blind with rage and kill us all?"

The young man gave the older companion a glare. "He wouldn't," he threatened. "You just don't get men. He's _fine."_

Selenis sighed and knew she was getting nowhere with Shawn. She turned, heading out the door to go to Seth herself. The farmboy was just a big ball of anger and rage, and he couldn't see when the people around him were in pain. Selenis wasn't quite sure Shawn even knew what pain was. All he had ever done was yell and scream when things went bad.

Shawn let out a loud groan as he watched her walk across the street through the window. _Stupid woman,_ he thought. _Stickin' her nose in other people's business, actin' like she knows everything. She just wants to be in charge or feel like she's important._

Surprisingly, though, her method worked. She put an arm on the larger, muscled man's shoulder and comforted him, and Shawn could see him lean down onto the short, now quite shapely woman, giving her a hug and letting out a few tears.

Shawn was wearing a very confused expression, surprised that she was right. He began to feel a bit guilty. He walked down the hall to check on Robert and Greyson, and could hear the younger boy sobbing softly. Shawn peeked through the door, seeing the distraught brunet crying over Robert's chest, who was asleep; his whole face was like one big bruise. The farmer boy made a gesture that he was leaving, to which Greyson nodded as he wiped away tears and held up his gun.

The Greene made it across the street, and the three continued clearing out houses until late in the afternoon, when they decided the city was clear. The only remaining houses were considerably smaller and the group was exhausted, so there was very little encouragement continue.

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry," Robert said a few hours after Shawn had left, startling Greyson. "About what happened with Daniel." Greyson looked down dejectedly, clearly upset about the whole situation. "If you don't trust me, or want to break up...I," Robert choked, holding back tears, "I understand."<p>

The freckled boy looked up to his boyfriend. "No," he said. "I think I understand."

"I didn't mean to hurt anybody," he sniffled, his voice taught with guilt. "Especially not you — ah!" Robert cried, pain striking through his face as he spoke. "I love you more than you might think."

"I know," Greyson said quietly, absent-mindedly eyeing his gun and continually looking out into the hallway.

"I mean it," Robert said. "I wasn't thinking when I — ouch — slept with him. I was just...desperate. I didn't know he would flip like that. I also didn't know he'd be so non-committal."

"Robert," Greyson interrupted, "it's fine. You don't have to explain yourself. I love you, and I know you love me. What happened...it's fine. I'll get over it. We'll get over it." The two shared a smile, and Greyson tenderly kissed his boyfriend on the lips. "Now get some rest."

When Shawn, Selenis, and Seth returned, they all slept through the night, sad and tired, vowing to leave for another town when the sun rose the next day. Things were beginning to look grim, and they could only hope and pray for a much-needed change.


	39. Chapter 39: Terminus

**Chapter 39: "Terminus"**

**Day 97; Group C**

The group had been on the road for days, wandering from building to building in town to town. No place seemed to be very suitable as a permanent home, despite the numerous places they had been through. The places they had found were either too crowded with walkers, too compact with buildings, too secluded from resources they needed, or unstable as a home, such as having large holes or broken windows or doors in them.

On top of it all, a few of the members of the group were unsure of settling down, hoping to find everyone else in the group. Otis and Amanda wanted to stay out on the road, and start hunting down their lost friends and family. There was little chance of finding them, but hopefully they could be out there somewhere.

Kelly and Amanda sat in the back as everyone else, including Steve, their captive, slept as best they could down the bumpy road. Amanda was finding it hard to get rest, uncertain about everything she was doing and that was going on around her now.

Kelly simply could not sleep through the bumps, no matter how soft the couch was.

The two sat at the end closest to the back door, away from the resting bodies, sharing a can of beans.

"I wish we didn't always eat all the salt so quickly," Amanda moaned.

"Well, what can you do?" Kelly said. "People 'round here aren't too keen on that old phrase, 'save the best for last.' They always just want to eat whatever goodies are in front of 'em, like scared little piggies."

"Afraid every meal will be their last, I guess?"

"I'd say so," Kelly shrugged, shoveling another spoonful of flavorless beans into her mouth. She stared off at Xavier, and was once again lost in thought; afraid she might soon regret everything she had done with the man.

"You really love him," Amanda smiled, slightly misreading the expression. "don't you?"

"Yeah," she sighed. "That's a bit of the problem, though."

"I don't think you're gonna lose him," Amanda said comfortingly. "All the strong people are still here. We've pretty much only lost weak people," Amanda said factually. "I mean, there was this guy Lee," she shrugged, "but that was only because he was stupid. Fell asleep watching someone who got bit."

Kelly nodded, contemplating. If Amanda was right, there was no doubt Roger was still alive. And there'd be no doubt Xavier will live on. If she ever had to see Roger again, she would have a lot to explain. Honestly, she has no idea what she would do, especially if she had to pick just one.

"Really," Kelly whispered, lowering her voice in case someone else might be awake, "I'm not worried about anybody dying. I think we'll be okay. I hope, at least," she frowned. "It's…" she trailed off.

The recovering addict raised a brow at the purple-haired girl. "It's what?"

Kelly looked to the blond as seriously as she could, trying to demonstrate the seriousness of her situation. "If I tell you this," Kelly threatened, "you have to promise me you won't tell anybody else. I mean anybody!" The purple-haired girl then looked back to the group, hoping no one had heard her raise her voice.

"I promise," Amanda said, a confused expression still sitting on her face. "Seriously," she said, straightening up, "I promise."

Kelly studied the other girl for a long time, glaring into her eyes. "Alright," she sighed. "So, I'm not sure if you heard or not, but a lot of my group came from this place called West Little Rock."

Amanda nodded, recalling hearing that name once or twice in other people's conversations at the house.

"Well," Kelly said again, making absolutely sure Amanda could be trusted, "when I lived there, I was with this guy named Roger. We loved each other to death, and honestly, I think he's the love of my life. But we got into a fight, and I stayed with my friends Olga and Britney that night. The next day, Ryan announced he was leaving, and a few people began heading out with him and his girls. They didn't care about Ryan, but they didn't want anything to happen to Lizzie and Mika. He was, like, nuts.

"Anyways, though, like...I looked over at Roger, and he still looked pissed off. And I really did love those girls. So, impulsively, I jumped ship." Amanda gasped, and looked over to Xavier. "And...yeah. That was like, almost two months ago, I think? I know if I had stayed, we would have worked it out and everything would have been fine."

"So, you think he might be waiting for you to come back or something?" Amanda asked.

"I dunno," Kelly shrugged. "If we ever go back there, though, and he's still there — or still alive, I guess — then we'd have a lot to discuss, and I don't want anybody's feelings getting hurt. And it's not like I have any reason to still be out here, other than to be with you all. But I'm scared of going back and finding out that the place is destroyed, or that Roger moved on… If I'm honest, I kind of regret getting with Xavier."

Amanda frowned, seeing the dilemma Kelly was in. "Are you going to break up with him?"

"No," Kelly said, still looking slightly distraught. "Do you think it's possible to love two people at the same time?"

Amanda shrugged. "For some people, I'm sure."

"I think that I am. I couldn't bear the thought of hurting Xavier. Breaking up with him. I truly love him."

Amanda sighed, unsure of what to say to the girl. "Well," she said genuinely with a smile, "whatever you decide, you know I've got your back."

* * *

><p>Driving around aimlessly for hours, they finally pulled into another town. "Lebanon," Gabriel said nonchalantly, barely even caring anymore as he read the sign aloud.<p>

"Isn't that a country or something?" Otis asked dumbly in the driver's seat.

"It is," Gabriel chuckled to himself. "But we're still in Missouri, Otis."

Otis rolled his eyes. "I'm not a complete idiot," he claimed.

"I'm sure," Gabriel joked.

They drove through the town, keeping their eyes peeled for a suitable home. Mostly, as with everywhere else, it was destroyed or burned up places, or buildings graffitied with hopeless messages. There seemed to be nowhere to go that wasn't in shambles or unstable.

The only option clearly available to them was houses. Houses, which could barely be defended, simply because they would be hard to watch out for. The neighboring houses would be in the way of potential threats, and they would have to constantly keep tabs on all of the buildings around them, in case people had showed up in them.

Then, just as they were about to give up and move on, they found the perfect thing: a train station. There was at least twenty yards of open space on all sides of it, other than the train tracks, where a single train lay dormant. According to Shakira, whose dad was apparently a conductor, it was in pretty good condition, and was likely still useful.

They exited the moving van, their weapons at the ready, all of them holding their knives and axes and screwdrivers. Kelly stayed behind to guard the van and the prisoner.

Sierra went up to the door, placing her free hand on the handle. Above the doors, a sign read "Kage Brothers Train Station."

As the others stood around her, she nodded to them before pulling it wide open. Xavier and Amanda rushed through the door, blades high in the air, ready to stab whatever may be lurking inside. After they both made it in safely, everyone else ran in as well, prepared to back up their companions.

To their delight, there were no walkers inside, and it seemed very secure. To their dismay, they were met with three old men pointing guns at them.

Quickly, everyone in the group backed up; some reached for their gun with their free hand, while other scrambled to put their melee weapon back in its holster or pocket, though most just ended up dropping them in favor of their guns.

The three men stood their ground, eyes locked on the intruders. "Get the hell out of my house!" the biggest one, with a long white beard, yelled from the center of the three.

Sierra looked among them, then to her people. They could totally take them. She had double the people they did — these old men didn't stand a chance.

"What do you think?" Otis asked the leader.

"I don't know," she said.

"We could totally do it."

"There could be more," she pointed out, hesitant of starting a battle they couldn't handle.

"There are," the man in a fisherman's hat claimed. "Women and children. You don't want to kill them, do you?"

Xavier looked back hesitantly to Sierra, whose face remained expressionless as she contemplated the scenario.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" she asked.

"You're crazy if you think we'll bring them out here just to 'prove it,'" the central man stated, "you follow me? If you're going to hurt us, go for it; you'll regret every moment of it. I suggest you go steal from someone else."

"We're not here to rob you," Amanda said defensively. "Do we look like marauders to you?"

"Doesn't matter what you look like anymore," the fisherman said. "You could be anyone."

The thinnest looked to the other men and attempted to whisper, "They could be alright, though," but failed, as Sierra and Xavier, who were nearest to them, clearly heard what he had said. "They haven't shot at us yet, and they could be useful."

"Do you really want to take that chance?" The white-bearded man asked.

Then, a gruff-looking man slammed a door behind the old trio open. He had a massive machine gun in his hand. Not a few seconds later, he was followed by a bony, brown man and two thin girls, one much fitter and taller than the other; they all carried guns equally as large as the gruff one's.

"Put your fucking weapons down now, or else I'll kill all of ya!"

They looked among themselves, and noticed Sierra's solid expression had dissipated, and now was one of great concern. They were outnumbered, and these new four seemed to be much more tough than the three in front of them.

Apparently taking too long, the gruff man shot, flying too close past the thin old man for his comfort, and shooting a hole into the floor by Otis, who the gruff man assumed to be their leader.

Instantly, Otis dropped his gun, fearing for his life. Sierra sighed, knowing they had no chance if they weren't all fighting. She dropped her gun on the floor and put her hands up. "Come on, then," she said to her companions.

The opposing leader smiled to himself. "Yeah," he said in delight as the intruders surrendered. "That's right. Follow the leader."

"What the fuck, Merle?!" the thin old man yelled to his apparent leader about nearly being shot.

"Shut up, man," he said. "Just remindin' you who's in charge around here." He paused a few seconds, and raised his voice in fury, "Don't just stand there you old fucks! Get their damn weapons."

The three scrambled to take their weapons, and the old one with the long beard seemed to be quite remorseful. Shakira began crying, fearing for the future, and her life, and the lives of everyone around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered to them. "Trust me, y'all are gonna be okay. You follow me?"

"I," Gabriel hesitated, "no?"

"Axel!" Merle yelled, causing the bearded old man to jump and continue grabbing the intruders' weapons. "Stop flirtin' with the enemy!"

Shakira's tears didn't stop as she began trembling, terrified of what could happen.

Merle sneered. "Can someone shut the spicy one up?"

No one in his group moved, but Sierra and Gabriel looked to her. "Shakira," Sierra whispered to the girl.

"Shakira, it'll be okay," Gabriel said. "We're gonna be okay."

Shakira didn't calm, only growing more and more scared with each dirty look she got from the intimidating people.

"Little miss Latin," Merle said almost flirtatiously, "if you don't shut up, things are gonna be a lot worse for you 'round here."

Shakira did her best to control her breathing and remain calm, but all she could do is hold her breath.

Merle sneered once again. "Which one of you's the leader?"

No one moved, frozen in fear.

"I'm not gonna repeat myself," he said, moving to stand right in front of Otis. He put his gun to the fat man's belly and cocked it, readying the bullet. "Which," he began, placing his finger on the trigger, "one-"

"It's me!" Sierra yelled. "It's me. I'm the leader."

Merle smiled a big, unsettling smile as he turned his gun to Sierra. "No," he said. "Couldn't be a pretty little girl like you. How old are you? Sixteen?"

"I'm twenty-six. And yeah, I'm the leader."

Xavier, Gabriel, and Otis nodded their heads, confirming the claim.

"All o' you big, strong men takin' orders from this pretty little thing?" Merle chuckled. "It's almost like you're not even men. Look at her!"

The people in Sierra's group remained stoic, not feeling shame or regret at all. Xavier was tempted to stick up for his ex-girlfriend's leadership skills, but decided it wouldn't be wise to yell at his captor.

"Alright then," the gruff man said. "Take 'em away. I wanna have a little chit-chat with Barbie over here."

Everyone looked worriedly amongst themselves, not sure whether to be scared more for themselves or Sierra, but they all gave her reassuring looks. At this point, they could only pray Kelly would know something was wrong because they hadn't come out yet and could rescue them.

Everyone except for Sierra and Merle left the room, taking the intruders into a back room to tie and lock them up. Sierra and Merle went into a small office, which probably belonged to the owner of the train station. The name tag had been replaced with a piece of paper that read "Merle Dixon." The original name tag lied on the ground, broken into pieces and left illegible among other garbage and broken things from when the station was in use.

"So," Merle began, "where are the rest of you?"

Sierra shook her head, "There isn't anyone else."

"I'm not stupid. If you're all looking for a place, you wouldn't just send everybody in at once. Surely you've got a vehicle somewhere, where everyone else is hiding out."

The blonde subtly bit her lip in worry, but quickly laid off, trying to remain stone-cold.

"The only other explanation is that you're scavengers and you're lying to me. You're clearly not big, bad people — you all look like pussies to me. You've probably got a base, people sittin' around waiting for you to come home. Maybe you have kids. You wouldn't want us to go out there and...hurt them. Would you?"

Sierra was unsure of what to say, and thought about lying and saying that they did have a base not far from here. Then, outside of the window of the office, she saw the thin brown man and the two girls from before walk in, Steve and Kelly tied up with rope in the center of them. There were bruises strewn about the duo, mostly on their faces. One of the girls, the smaller one, came toward the office and Sierra sighed. They were hopeless.

"Merle," she said.

"Yes?" Merle smiled, knowing from the blonde's reaction they were her people.

"We found two more people out in a moving van outside."

"Thank you, Alicia. Lock them up, too." The short brunette left the room and Merle's confident smile seemed to become demented. "Looks like we found them anyways, huh?"

Sierra sighed, completely unsure of what to do or say. She couldn't hide the despair and horror in her expression.

"Too shocked to speak? That's fine. You'll have plenty of time to explain yourself later." The gruff man smiled and picked up a walkie-talkie. "Amanda," he said, instantly confusing the blonde before she realized that must be the other, taller girl's name, "get in here and take Barbie away."

Sierra's heart began to pound as the weight of the situation began to sink in. Not only had she and her entire group been taken hostage, but it was by this crazy, awful, creepy redneck. On top of it all, if she had any hope at getting out, she would have to put a lot of trust into Steve. Now, they were equals fighting against a common enemy — Merle Dixon.

"I'm done with her...for now."


	40. Chapter 40: Cherries

**Chapter 40 "Cherries"**

**Day 98; Group A**

Beth and Patricia were in the back room, taking stocking of the food they have stored up. They stood on the opposite side of the wall from their beds, because they slept in this room, as well. Very few cans were left; all that is left is the "gross" stuff, like unseasoned refried beans, squash, peas, green beans, and spinach.

Then, as she searched the very back of the bottom shelf, Beth found something: a can of cherries. She smiled deviously to herself and quickly shoved it down her boot before Patricia noticed.

She felt guilty holding out on food from everyone else, but she had plans, and she wanted to see it come to fruition.

The girls finished their business and reported back the very few things that were left in the house. Malcolm frowned to himself. "Should we go on a run?"

"No!" Beth yelled, but instantly regretted it. She looked to the others and smiled. "Not tonight. We're fine for now. Maybe tomorrow, huh?"

Malcolm lifted a brow at the girl. "Sure. Okay."

"I'm sorry," she covered. "I just don't want us splitting up. Not so soon."

Patricia, Malcolm, Taylor, and Lyrik gave confused faces, unsure what had Beth acting the way she was.

"Are you alright?" Patricia asked the teen, concerned she might be feeling upset about something. "If you need to talk to me about something, you know I'm here for you. You're like the daughter I always wanted."

Beth smiled, a genuine smile that she hoped would break the awkwardness she had created. "I know," she smiled, giving the elder a big hug. "I love you," she said, breaking the hug and heading out to the back porch.

"I love you, too," Patricia called as the girl walked away. When the door closed, she turned to the others, still confused and concerned. "That was odd."

"Yeah," Malcolm concurred. "It was."

* * *

><p>Soon, everyone went back to their own devices, and Patricia took the opportunity to go outside and check on Beth.<p>

"Sweetie?" she beckoned, opening the door gently to not scare the teen.

"It's okay, Patricia."

The old blonde stepped out of the door, closing it behind her, and made her way to the bench Beth seemed to spend most of her waking hours on.

"Are you sure everything's fine, Beth?"

Beth stared out into the woods before her, contemplating. Finally, she turned her head down and straightened her sleeves anxiously. "Did you mean what you said? About me bein' like a daughter to you?"

Patricia smiled warmly and wrapped an arm around the girl. "Of course I meant that," she assured her. "Me and Otis practically raised you right along with your parents. Your parents have been my best friends for years, and I always felt like I was an aunt to you and your siblin's. I love you kids like y'all are my own."

Beth smiled and leaned into the kind soul's arms. "I love you, too. And I mean that."

The two remained like that for a few minutes, staring off into the forest and loving that they were together.

"I'm sorry I was actin' so weird in there," Beth apologized.

"Honey, don't worry about it. We all act weird these days."

Beth bit her lip and considered whether or not she should talk to Patricia about what was on her mind. "Patricia," she beckoned, deciding she needed the advice.

"What is it, dear?"

"I was acting so weird in there because...because I like Malcolm."

"Well," Patricia sighed, "he certainly is attractive."

"But that's not it… He's been hitting on me, and I was scared at first, but…I think I want to be with him."

Patricia furrowed her brows, unsure of what to say.

"And I, um. I wanted to...show him. That I like him, I mean."

The elder sighed, knowing the day would come when Beth would find another boy of interest.

"Do you think that's okay?"

"I don't know anymore," Patricia stated.

"What do you mean?"

"Beth," she said, "you're seventeen. He's, what, like, twenty-five?"

"Yeah…" Beth shrugged.

"Now, normally, I'd be telling you you've gone crazy. That you'd be making a huge mistake and ruining your life."

Beth nodded, feeling dirty, but couldn't help hoping there was a "but;" that she didn't have to feel guilty about liking the man.

"But," Patricia said, much to Beth's, though adamant, delight, "these days, everything's different. There's no laws anymore. And I'm not even sure what would ruin your life no more. You don't even know if you'll have a life past any given moment. You're a smart girl — I saw the way you and Jimmy interacted. You won't let him go any farther than you're comfortable. If he tries something you're not comfortable with, I trust you won't let it happen, so I know you're probably able to handle it. If I had a chance with him, and I knew Otis was gone, I'd go for it. You, however...I'm not sure you really do have anything to lose now."

Beth nodded, understanding what Patricia was saying, but also understanding how hard it was to make a decision like that. No one knew what was going to happen — not anymore. The one thing they were most certain of was that freedom wasn't coming soon. Things wouldn't be going back to normal in the near future.

"So," the elder said quietly, "between you and me...you have my blessing."

The young blonde smiled at the closest thing she had left to a parent and hugged her, happy that no matter what, Patricia would be there for her.

* * *

><p>Later that day, not long after the sun had set, Beth sat in the front room, preparing to change the bandage around her fingers. Patricia still wasn't certain if it was too soon to let it out of its wrapping. Sarita wasn't sure, either, since it was fingers and not an arm; but she was fairly sure it would be fine to take the bandages off in a few weeks.<p>

As she unwrapped the cloth, she held her breath. When her hand was free, she sighed. They seemed to be healing well, but she couldn't help but be upset at the sight. Her left pinky and ring fingers were gone, sliced off because of her own carelessness. If her dad was here, he could help. He would know when to take off the bandage, and when it would be healed and fine again.

Despite having been told multiple times not to, the blond reached out with her other hand and touched her finger-stumps. It was strange, and she didn't like it.

Then, Malcolm sat down beside her, startling her and nearly causing her to stab the brunet with a pair of nearby scissors.

"Jesus!" she yelled, jumping in panic.

"It's me!" he yelled before lowering his voice to a whisper. "It's just me."

The girl calmed and tried to get back to what she was doing. "Nearly scared me half to death."

Malcolm chuckled and began observing the things scattered across the table in front of her. "Changing your bandage?"

"Well, I was," she said, grabbing a rag and dipping it in a bowl of water.

"I'm sorry," he smiled. "Need some help with that?"

The blonde continued cleaning the wounds silently for a few moments before she looked back up at the man. "Sure."

"What do I need to do?"

"Well, I already took off the old wrapping, and I just cleaned it. What do you think?"

"Time to put on a new one?"

Beth smiled and nodded, gesturing her head towards the table of assorted tools.

"Which one of these is it?" he asked, picking up many different rolls of tapes and cloths.

"I dunno," she joked, forcing him to guess.

Malcolm ran his eyes over the rolls, not sure exactly what was what. "Uh," he grunted, making Beth giggle for a second. "How about this?" he asked, holding up a roll of tape.

"No," she said.

"Oh, okay, then. I got it now!" He dropped the tape and began moving the softer rolls into a pile. "It's one of these."

Beth hummed, confirming the boy's statement.

"Does it matter which one?" he asked, looking at the different colors and patterns on each one. There were three that were plain white, one in pink, two in black, one a rainbow, and the last a green background with yellow, pink, and white butterflies and flowers.

"Whatever you like," she said.

Malcolm looked at the girl, holding up different bandages to her skin and comparing which one compliments her most, amusing Beth greatly.

He decided on the rainbow one. "Wanna brighten up our lives a bit," he smiled.

"So do I," she said.

The man tentatively unraveled a bit of the gauze wrap and held it to her pinky, just short of the wound. "Do I just, like, wrap it up?"

The blonde nodded, delighted he was being so friendly and kind.

He began to wrap the two fingers up, going slowly and gently, afraid of hurting her. "Let me know if I hurt you, or just...do something wrong, okay?" Beth had a large smile across her face as the scared brunet continued his job. "Okay?"

"Okay!" Beth laughed.

When her fingers were wrapped and taped, she sat there, staring at the man.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm just fine," she said and reached her right hand out to his left.

He smiled at her, his grin getting bigger and bigger as time passed. "I thought you didn't like me."

"No," Beth shook her head. "I was just scared."

"Scared?"

"Well," she shrugged, "you're like, seven years older than me."

Malcolm nodded, instantly feeling a bit remorseful for having made moves on an innocent teenager.

"Plus, look at the world around us. There's a million reasons for me not to get with you."

"I understand," he said, drawing away from the blonde.

"That doesn't mean 'no,' though. I do want to be with you," she smiled.

"You do?"

"Yeah," she smiled genuinely. She then took him by surprise and climbed into his lap, and they began kissing. The kissing became passionate and intense, and she pulled away for a moment, causing Malcolm to ache; he wanted to keep their mouths locked. He craved her with an almost overpowering primal desire.

She reached over and pulled a can of cherries out of her bag. She gave him a devious smile, taking Malcolm off guard once again, not expecting the girl he saw as innocent to be so direct. He smiled widely at her, and they continued with what they had begun.


	41. Chapter 41: So Close

**Chapter 41 "So Close"  
>Day 98; Group B<strong>

The group awoke later than intended, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. They had planned to all get up shortly after sunrise and to head out as soon as possible, getting on the road quickly. However, they woke up late and decided to take their time in packing. Things were hard, and they had constant reminders of that all around them. It was getting harder and harder to get up and find the motivation to head out.

"Should we even go anywhere?" Seth asked Shawn as everyone packed.

The farm boy sighed and looked around at everyone, patiently getting their things together. "Really," he said quietly, "I'm not sure. I want us to keep moving, but everybody's just giving up."

"Should we ask them?"

Shawn studied the others once more with a frown on his face. "No," he finally said. "No one's asking to stay, so we're going to move out. I guess, hopefully, something good could happen."

"I sure hope you're right," Seth stated as he shoved some toilet paper into his bag. "I'm not sure if I — or any of them — can take much more losses."

Hope was running low, and no one was certain how to replenish it. They all needed a good, long taste of it; something to remind them that everything is not bleak and depressing. They wanted to find their family, but even a stranger out there would suffice. They would have to be careful, but they needed it. They needed some signal that they weren't all that remained of the world.

No matter where they went, the moans of walkers was never too distant. Even if it was just one, the sound was still there. It was like a haunting, annoying reminder. A deathly call to the people they had lost; all the people the world had lost.

They left, slowly making their way to the RV. Everything was so slow and dreary. Usually, they left a town with a lot of "maybe"s, many "hopefully"s. This time, they were more like "possibly"s. "I guess"s. "I doubt it"s.

* * *

><p>After about thirty minutes on the road, they drove onto one-too-many dead ends in the national park, which usually led to houses or just nothing at all. On top of it, the roads were interconnected in weird ways which usually got them lost, repeating a cycle unintentionally for hours at a time. "We really need to get out of this fuckin' forest," Shawn complained, getting very annoyed. "Where's the damn map at?"<p>

Selenis checked her bag, assuming it to be on top as per usual. She lifted a brow when she found it to not be where she expected it. The woman shoved her hands down the bag and began rifling through it, and she soon realized she had left it behind somewhere the other day.

"Shawn," she began hesitantly, knowing he was already annoyed.

"I swear to God."

"We lost the map."

"Fuck!" the man yelled furiously, making a sharp turn and halting the RV to a stop. He stood up, his arms raised. "You're fucking kidding me, right?! You're bullshitting me."

"No," Selenis said as calmly as she could. She wasn't afraid of him, she was just afraid of tensing the situation even more, with two people already injured. She had to make sure he wouldn't freak out and get them into even more trouble than they were already in.

"Knock that polite shit out!" He turned to Greyson, who looked on, slightly scared. "Did you see it?!" He turned to Seth. "What about you, man?!"

"Shawn," Selenis warned. "Calm down."

"Don't tell me what to-"

Seth grabbed the farm boy by the shoulder with a firm grip, doing his best to intimidate the young hothead. "Hear her out."

"Shawn," she restarted as the man held his tongue under the fierce grip of his much stronger companion, "just breathe. Now, really, why would any of us leave the map behind on purpose?"

Shawn made an odd noise as though he was going to speak, but immediately took it back, acknowledging Selenis's point.

"No, it's _not _because we're stupid," she said, assuming that's what he would say. That's what he always said when people pissed him off and he didn't have a good reason. "We're human. _I'm_ human. It was my responsibility, and I forgot it. I made a mistake and I'm sorry. You don't have to throw a tantrum over it, though, now do you?"

Shawn sighed, realizing he probably had scared them a bit. "No," he said like a child half-heartedly apologizing after stealing their sibling's candy.

"Good," Selenis said, nodding to everyone. "So then what do you want to do? Keep going?"

"If we keep going, we'll just get even more lost," the farmer pointed out.

"It's not like we'd have much more luck turning back," Greyson said.

Seth and Selenis nodded, agreeing with the boy.

"We're only a few minutes away, aren't we?" Shawn questioned.

"I'm not sure," Selenis said, tapping the long-broken watch on her wrist.

Shawn rubbed his temples, completely fed up with nothing ever going his way. "Fuck it," he cursed, once again annoyed. "We'll find another one or something. We're wasting daylight."

Selenis and Seth looked to each other, hesitant, but nodded back to him. You've got to let your leader lead sometimes, even if he is a raging hothead.

* * *

><p>It was late afternoon. The group had lost their map, and were now driving around almost aimlessly, hoping they could find a road that led to a town — at this point, they would even be happy with a road that just led to a house. They needed to find somewhere to settle in for the night, and they were beginning to consider giving up and just sleeping in the RV.<p>

Seth yelped in pain at the shaking of the RV as they ran over a fat human carcass on the road, causing Greyson to accidentally jab his boyfriend in the face with a forkful of canned beans.

"I'm so sorry!" Greyson scrambled, hoping he hadn't stabbed one of Robert's bruises.

"It's fine," Robert groaned, "I'll be okay." The brunet forced a smile through the pain, attempting to reassure everyone he was getting better — which he was sure of. It was just taking time. Already, some of the bruises were beginning to lighten and go back to their natural coloration.

Coming from the east, they struck gold. To Selenis's left, which was to the south, they saw a sign and felt a surge of relief wash over their weary bodies. Finally, a place they could stop and rest.

"Welcome to Winona! Small town, big people!"

The group pulled into the first place they saw, a small trailer to their left, right behind the sign. When it was declared to be safe, they all settled in for the night, preparing themselves for a big day ahead of them tomorrow. Little did they know, it would be even bigger than they could anticipate.


	42. Chapter 42: Reunion

**Chapter 42 "Reunion"  
>Day 99; Group A&amp;B<strong>

Today was a cold, chilly day. The weather was turning colder as it got closer and closer to winter. It appeared to now be the middle of autumn. Most of the trees whose leaves could fall, had. The group awoke later than planned again, but it certainly wasn't too far off from when they needed to get a move on. It was only a few hours past sunrise, and things were looking up.

The group was reloading the RV, preparing to leave the house and begin scavenging. This time, even if it did take longer, they couldn't risk splitting up again. Robert was sitting in the bed in the back resting, as usual, as everyone else prepped their weapons and got the vehicle ready for the day.

"Everybody almost ready?" Shawn asked, cocking his gun and putting it into its holster.

"Almost," Selenis and Greyson said in unison, causing them both to smile slightly to one another.

"Well, hurry up," the farmer sighed as he stepped into the RV to help Seth get the ammo straightened out.

"I'm not sure what it is," Greyson grunted to Selenis as he lugged two heavy bags out of the house, "but I have a good feeling about today."

"Me too," she smiled, loading her gun. "Need some help?"

Before the boy could answer, a walker stepped out of the trees. Selenis rolled her eyes as she lifted her gun and shot it in the head. As it fell limp, she turned back to hear Greyson reply, but his face slowly lit up with fear.

Walkers began pouring out of the treeline, one after another, flooding the yard of the trailer they had slept in rapidly.

"Fuck!" Greyson yelled, and Selenis ran to him, grabbing one of the heavy bags he was struggling with and they sprinted to get into the RV. As Greyson ran forward, Selenis turned and shot two more walkers.

When they were all in, they wasted no time getting out of there as soon as possible. They sped down the road, passing house after house of the town, which was larger than they were expecting.

After they had made it quite a few blocks from their house, Shawn decided to slow slightly, not needing to go ninety miles an hour just to run from trudging walkers.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Selenis sighed. "I think so."

"Did we leave anything behind?" Seth inquired.

"If we did," Greyson stated, "it's gone now."

Then, a loud yelling was heard from the back. It was Robert on the bed. Greyson instantly rose to his feet, horrified of what could be happening, and was followed right by Selenis.

As they made it to the door, Robert burst it open. "Turn around!" he ordered. "Now!"

"Are you insane?!" Shawn asked.

"No," Robert said, still yelling. "Turn the fuck around, now! I saw Beth and Lyrik!"

"You…" Seth started. "Robert, if you saw them back there, that wasn't them. Not anymore…"

"No!" the young man yelled, getting furious. "I'm not playing a fucking game, and they're not walkers! They were outside of a house, just sitting there with a few other people. _Now turn around!"_

Shawn sighed, strongly disbelieving Robert, but he turned, to humor the poor boy.

They drove back, waiting for Robert to give a signal. Then, getting dangerously close to the walkers, Robert spoke up. "There!" he yelled, pointing to four people standing outside of an elevated trailer that had a sign crossed out, with "NO HOPE" written in red over it.

One of the four people was a man with long, dirty, brown hair. He held a rifle and looked at the RV inquisitively. Beside him was a very large, strong man, who looked at the vehicle just as confusedly. Behind them, running towards the RV in flailing excitement and tears was two teenage girls: a thin blonde and plump, dark one. Robert was right. He began crying in astonishment and bolted out the door, followed quickly by everyone else.

Robert grabbed onto the two girls, hugging them dearly as they all began sobbing onto one another. He clutched their hair and their backs, like a child pinching himself to make sure he was awake. The other four from the RV did the same, creating a massive group hug. Robert and Lyrik couldn't stop hugging, and Beth and Shawn kissed each other.

They were so happy to be back together. This was it; this is what they needed. The light in the darkness to keep them going.

Then, the growls could be heard, and Robert pulled off of them. "Go inside, get your shit, we all gotta go!"

Lyrik and Beth took off instantly, and Taylor followed, but Malcolm puzzledly looked on. "Now wait a minute," he said as Shawn, Greyson, and Selenis also ran inside to help pack, "who are you?"

"We're family," Robert stated. "Now, if you want to make it through another day alive, I suggest you go pack up, _now!"_

"Why? What's going on?"

"Herd!" Seth and Robert yelled impatiently.

Malcolm hesitated a step back, and then turned and sprinted back to the hardware store.

Within minutes they all rushed out, Beth and Patricia holding hands as they carried their bags over their shoulders, and they were both crying with huge smiles on their face, despite the imminent fear.

Extra bags were carried by Selenis, Greyson, and Shawn. Seth and Robert guarded the RV, taking shots at oncoming walkers and putting them down quickly, trying to buy the group a little extra time.

Finally, though, everyone was in with the majority of their things. Everyone made it into the vehicle alive.

Sarita, Malcolm, and Taylor were confused and a bit scared, realizing how foolish they were to just hop into an RV full of strangers, leaving the RV Beth's group had brought behind.

Everyone else though was sobbing onto each other, in disbelief that they had found one another again.

They drove for hours, getting as far out from the town as they could, going southwest. Then, they all pulled over on the road to have proper introductions and reunions.

Robert, Seth, Shawn, Greyson, and Selenis were introduced to Sarita, Malcolm, and Taylor.

Mika, Allan, Patricia, Beth, and Lyrik still seemed to be reeling with shock. They were overjoyed, all of them — even Allan.

"So," Patricia asked hesitantly, "you don't know if anyone else made it out, do you?"

"I don't know," Shawn said. "It's just been us...well, and Daniel, but...as you can see…"

Patricia nodded her head solemnly.

"How did you all get out?" Selenis asked.

Allan spoke up, happy to wear his knowledge like a badge. "We were out gardening, trying to take everyone's minds off of the whole, uh," he looked to Mika and held his tongue, unsure of how she would take hearing about Lizzie again, "situation the day before. We were the first to see the herd, and we tried to get everyone out. They just took too long, and we had to leave them behind."

The girls who had been with Allan for the past week frowned angrily at him. They didn't _have_ to leave. There was plenty of time to wait. But this wasn't the time or place to have a large argument, out on the middle of the road after a heart-warming reunion and horrifying herd escape.

"Then we stayed by a creek for a bit, and headed into Winona. That's where we met these three. What about you all?" the disdainful man questioned.

"Well," Shawn thought, "as y'all know, we were out scavenging. We came back, and we couldn't even get to the house. The herd was just, you know, massive. So we went back to the old one — from before we moved in with Ryan's people. We stayed there for like a whole day, waiting on that herd to clear up."

Robert thought back to the day they had went back to the house. He looked to Greyson with a smile. "It all makes sense now," he said, interrupting Shawn, and Greyson nodded, but didn't quite remember what Robert meant. "We went back to the house — you know, Ryan's — and we found that pretty much everybody's bags were gone, other than ours, Mika's, Allan's, and Lyrik's." The boy smiled. "Otis got out. He took your bags," he pointed to the blonde women.

Patricia held back her tears, knowing she had shed too many on her husband already — she didn't want them to start thinking she was just a crying mess. "Is that it?"

"No," Seth said. "We started going south, down the road the walkers went towards, looking for signs of people escaping. All we found was a few fire pits and holes, a trench made for bathroom time," he purposely omitted the dead girl they found in the sewage, conscious of Mika and Beth, "and two of the vans we kept at the little garage that had been abandoned."

"Like, down that road?" Beth asked.

"Yeah. It was a ways before we got to the camp site. They must have broken down and kept walking on foot. From there, we don't know what happened."

"Been out looking for everybody ever since," Selenis said. "Going from town to town, looking to find somebody."

"We were there pretty much whole time," Allan said. "Right after the herd hit, we headed due south, putting as much distance between the herd as we could."

"Wait, due south?" Seth asked. "You don't think that was the same herd, do you?"

A few eyes went wide, realizing it very likely could be. "I didn't even think about that," Allan said. "I think it might have been."

They all nodded, and Lyrik couldn't take it anymore. "You guys don't know if anyone died, do you?"

Robert sighed. "Two people did for sure."

Lyrik frowned, hoping it wasn't someone she liked.

"First, there was Patti," Greyson said, remembering how Daniel had put her down and they had a mini-funeral for her. "And then…"

"And then there was Daniel," Robert said. "He's why my face looks like this."

"Really?" Allan asked, surprised.

"Yeah," Greyson said, irritation thick in his voice. "I couldn't believe it either."

"He just kinda," Seth paused, "went crazy. Blew up, and beat Robert up."

"Then the douche went downstairs and fed himself to a walker," Robert spat. "Left me and Greyson all alone to fend for ourselves, with me aching and in massive pain."

After a few moments of shock and honoring the deaths of their fallen comrades with silence, Selenis smiled to herself, remembering huge news the girls would be delighted to hear.

"We have a couple of lovebirds," she announced.

Greyson and Robert instantly looked to one another, eyes wide and surprised.

"Who?" Beth smiled.

Selenis bit her lip and gestured to the two boys, nervously eyeing each other.

"Awwwwwwwww!" a few of the girls cried in unison, giving Robert and Greyson awkward smiles as they blushed and looked from each other to the ground and the faces of their reunited loved ones.

"Really?" Allan asked, looking slightly disgusted.

Robert's embarrassed smile dissipated as he turned to Greyson, who was instantly shocked but eased into it as they reached into one another and kissed deeply, happily flaunting their newfound love before the rude man.

Allan rolled his eyes as he looked away, and everyone cheered for the boys.

Malcolm looked over awkwardly to Beth, who was laughing at the sight. She soon noticed Malcolm eyeing her nervously, and her face became serious. She shook her head no, not wanting the long-haired brunet to say a word about what had happened.

The boy panicked, wanting to brag and be proud of his relationship with the girl. "I had sex with Beth!" he blurted, causing many of the laughs to become hysterical. Robert and Greyson broke their kiss, pulling away laughing hard.

Patricia covered her mouth in shock, unaware this had happened, and then realized Mika had heard it. She quickly placed her hands over the young girl's ears, afraid of what else the crazy brunet might say.

Shawn appeared angry, worried that his sister had just hooked up with a potentially dangerous stranger. What if she was pregnant? He felt like punching Malcolm in the face.

Beth's face was bright red, her hands trying desperately to hide her embarrassment. Then, as the icing on the cake, it was clear Patricia was much too late. "What's a segs?" Mika asked innocently.

The laughing became uproarious, unable to contain themselves. No one, not even Beth or Patricia or Shawn, could stop laughing; it was intensified as they began to realize Malcolm was standing there, his face flushed as he feigned laughter with them.

Sadly, it was brought to an end as many walkers approached, attracted to the hysterics.

It brought a quick downfall to the happiness of those nearest the walkers, who did their best to pull out a weapon of some sort hastily. It grounded their enjoyment, and brought a quick reminder that not all was well. However, it didn't kill the joy brought onto them — the laugh they had shared was good, and brought them a much-needed uplift.

Soon, the walkers were taken down, and everyone was once again calm, other than a few leftover giggles.

"So, is that it?" Seth asked.

"Well," Beth hesitantly began, afraid her speaking would bring more laughs, "I adopted Mika."

Everyone clapped or smiled, congratulating the two, and proud of the choice Beth had made. They admired her strength and confidence that she had grown into, despite all of the losses in her life, including her father and two of her fingers. They were impressed the teen had taken such an admirable step in her life.

They remained there, catching up and enjoying one another's companies for hours, along with killing a stray walker every now and then. They were so pleased they were back together again, and that they weren't the only ones left. They knew not everyone was there, and that some of the other people_had_ to still be alive out there, but they were overjoyed to have at least someone back.

As the sun began to set, Shawn realized they still hadn't discussed where they were going to go now.

"So what's the plan?" he asked when a quiet opportunity finally arrived.

Everyone looked amongst themselves or into the distance, unsure of what to do.

"I say we keep moving," Selenis voted.

Patricia and Beth frowned to each other and looked to Mika. "I think we should find a place to stay," Beth said. "A permanent place."

Allan had an internal struggle. He knew they had fled southward, and thus closer to Arkansas. If they kept going further south, they would soon come across the signs for West Little Rock, his old home. As he considered it more and more, the people talking around him, he realized how badly he wanted to go. He wanted to see the people he had left behind, and to be back with people he had known from early on.

"I have a place," he spoke up, interrupting Seth, who was suggesting finding a large institution of some sort.

"Uh," Seth grunted, slightly mad he had been interrupted.

"West Little Rock."

"Wait," Greyson said, "really?"

"What's West Little Rock?" Taylor asked, a brow lifted.

"It's the place Mika and Allan came from," Greyson stated. "Before I met them, they came-"

"Oh yeah," Taylor said, recalling that Patricia had told him.

"I mean," Robert said, "do you think it'd be safe? Or like, that it would even still be there?"

Allan shrugged. "I don't know. But I think it's our best bet — at least we would know."

Mika smiled at the thought of going back to West Little Rock, and seeing all of her friends again. "Can we, please?"

Beth looked worried as she looked to the child. "I'm not sure if-"

"Pleeeeaaaaaaase?" she begged.

Beth sighed and looked to Patricia for guidance. She knew what Beth was afraid of — that the sanctuary had been destroyed, and that Mika would become upset about it. The elder woman could only shrug, unsure of what could happen.

"All for going to West Little Rock?" Allan announced, raising his hand high into the air. Taylor, Malcolm, and Seth soon followed suit, happily and dumbly unaware of what the teen was worried for. Mika's hand shot up as she realized that it was a vote. Beth sighed and raised her hand as well, which signalled everyone else it was fine to vote for such.

The only people opposed were Sarita, who feared large communities because of what had happened to her the last time, and Selenis, who wanted to keep moving, but she understood the need for a permanent home.

"It's settled then," Shawn announced. "We're going to West Little Rock."


	43. Chapter 43: Farther

**Chapter 43 "Farther"  
><strong>**Day 100; Group A&B**

Gone: was the stress of being alone. Gone: was the insecurity in having a small group. Gone: was the fear everyone beloved had died.

Returned: was the warmth of friends and family. Returned: was the ability to smile and not feel guilty. Returned: was the idea things could be peaceful again.

Families were stitched back together, and friends were given hope again. New people were shown how strong faith and trust could be, and that it was important to remain hopeful that the people you loved could survive, even with the odds stacked against them.

As had been established the day before, the group's priority was to find a permanent home. They needed to stop moving, and to get a place they could be safe at forever. Surely, somewhere out there, whether it was West Little Rock or not, there was a place they could call home.

Because of how large the group was now, they had stayed in a farmhouse not far from the road they were on the night before, which was easy to clear out.

As they rose, they were delighted to see that it hadn't been a dream; they _were_ back together again. Sadly, the world around them hadn't been a dream. That was all too real.

* * *

><p>So much had been accomplished today. A new map had been found, and they traveled over one hundred miles — far over halfway to Little Rock, Arkansas. They still needed more food to compensate for the larger numbers and the constant traveling. Really, their only hope was that Allan hadn't lied or been wrong — that West Little Rock <em>was<em> there. If it wasn't, they had no hope. There was nothing to move on to.

As the group slept in the couches, or on sheets, or even just on the cold, hard floor of a large farm house, the wind blew against the building. It rushed through the cracks of windows or doors, making a loud high-pitched whistle; like the ghosts of their pasts, it raged on throughout the night as they forced themselves to get some rest.

Taylor sat on the roof of the farmhouse in an oversized windbreaker — "perfect for an obese woman going to Walmart in Louisiana," as Lyrik had joked.

As the night dragged on, Sarita was awoken by her bowels, which insisted they had to make a movement, and quickly. When she remembered the only toilet in the house was filled to the brim with other peoples' waste, she groaned, though she did it as quietly as she could, trying not to wake up those around her. She snatched a roll of toilet paper as she hastily and aggravatedly made her way outside into the night.

"Tay!" she whisper-yelled up at the roof as she closed the door behind her. "Taylor, it's me: Sarita!"

"Sarita? What are you doing?" he asked, peeking his head off of the ledge of the roof.

"I've got to use the bathroom."

"Now?"

"Yes! I need you to- ugh!" she groaned as her stomach growled, ready to go. "You have to cover me."

"Okay," he shrugged. "You got it."

She made her way to the treeline around the backyard of the house, which was much like the old Greene farm in that it was clear of trees for about a half mile or so all around it.

The strong man watched his Indian companion waddle her way out, trying desperately to hold in her bodily functions. He couldn't help but snicker at her a bit.

She squatted down, her underwear strewn to the side and her nightgown held up in her arms, and released. She moaned slightly at the relief, happy that she hadn't soiled herself, and that the feeling was so rewarding.

Taylor kept the sights of his rifle locked on her, but did his best to not look at too much. He neither wanted to look at something private, or to be disgusted at seeing an action he'd rather not bare witness to.

Then, gunfire could be heard in the opposite direction, out on the road near the front of the house. It was loud and rabid, and it distracted Taylor. He was conflicted; a part of him wanted to go and help them. He was happy to see there were even more humans around, but he knew that if they were firing like that, they were either stupid, careless, or in more trouble than just one man could lend a hand to fixing.

Sarita, too, was slightly distracted by the gunfire, thinking something had happened with Taylor she hadn't caught. As she looked up at the house, though, she realized he wasn't a part of it. It was all coming from the town.

Taylor kept his rifle up, trained on the road leading up to the farmhouse. He wasn't sure what might happen, but if the fools shooting rushed here for safety, he would have to quickly evacuate everyone.

The woman squatting in the woods sighed and put her head back down, getting back down to business. She heard a crackle from behind her and she jumped, but failed to get to her feet and she fell down face-first. She struggled for her underwear and did her best to slip them on as she rose.

"_Taylor!_" she wailed, hoping he would get whatever was behind her off of her back. She then realized she had never even looked at what it was. The one-armed woman turned and realized that three walkers had sneaked up on her, likely attracted to the gunfire, or perhaps her own noise. One of which, was a child. A young boy, no older than ten, was approaching her with two taller walkers, who could easily have been the boy's parents.

The strong man on the roof turned to see the biters approaching Sarita, who lay on her side holding a pair of blue panties, staring frozen up at the walkers.

"Sarita!" he yelled as loudly as he could to her, trying to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. "_Move!_"

She struggled to get up, cursing her stump arm, and she wailed again. "Shoot them!"

Taylor bit his lip in concentration, but he accidentally took down the walker farthest from her, the motherly one, meaning to get the one nearest, which was the child, but missing due to the shambling of the foul creatures. He sighed and reloaded the gun.

She used everything she could, all of the might in her, pushing herself to get up, despite accidentally putting way too much pressure on her amputated arm.

Somehow, despite it all, she had made it to her feet. She had rose, and as she collected herself, she smiled. She could make it. She could run, and Taylor would take down the other two walkers.

Teeth, vile and cruel, sunk into her bad arm before she could sprint off to the house. They tore into the damaged muscle, undoing all of the recovery the woman had suffered through, and invalidating everything she had worked for since the beginning of the outbreak.

She screamed in awful pain, shrieking into the night. Taylor dropped his rifle slightly, and stifled a sound of disbelief. It didn't last long, though, as he quickly lifted his gun and dispatched of the farthest walker, and then he lowered it and with stunning aim in the intensity of the moment, he managed to miss Sarita and get the child walker right in the head.

Before jumping off the roof and running to Sarita's aid, he used the back of his rifle to bust open the nearest window and he shouted into it, "Everyone get up and get ready to go!"

In the room, Allan and Malcolm jumped into action, quickly slipping on shoes or getting dressed as best they could before grabbing their stuff and splitting off into the house setting to awaking everyone.

As Taylor sprinted for his close friend, she clutched her arm, wailing and weeping. Sarita had no idea how she should be feeling, truly, other than in pain from the intense agony of being bitten again. It was worse than she remembered, by a thousand degrees.

"Sarita!" he bursted, throwing his gun to the floor as he reached for the woman with tears in his eyes. "You're gonna make it," he reassured her as Malcolm, Shawn, and Allan ran to help. Rushing to help her, the muscular man ripped his bag off from his shoulder and dug through it, finally finding a butcher's knife. It wouldn't work as well as a hatchet or a saw, but there was no time to get one of them.

"Don't," she said weakly, doing her best to raise her arm and push away the blade. "I've lived long enough. I'm done now." Her breathing began to slow, and it became difficult for her to keep her head up. "Just, let me, turn," she breathed sadly before passing out from shock and blood loss.

They all stared at her in shock, unsure of what to really do. "Chop it off already!" Allan yelled.

Taylor looked to Malcolm with concern. They knew how hard things were for her. It took her ages to recover from her amputation last time. They knew she was weak. She was smart, though. She always knew exactly what she wanted.

The two stared sadly between themselves and their dying friend. If they had been bitten twice, they're not sure they would want another chance, either.

Malcolm shook his head no as he considered. He felt like he knew what Sarita said was how she truly felt. She wouldn't want to be a burden again. She didn't want to have a third chance when so few had hardly been given one.

Taylor nodded his head, and lowered the knife.

"You can't be serious," Allan said, beginning to search his bag for a weapon to amputate her arm with himself.

Taylor looked up, quickly grabbing his gun and pointing it directly at Allan's skull. "You do it and I'll put you down for good."

Allan glared at Taylor, his arm still firmly shoved down his bag. Shawn stood by, clueless about the dynamics this group had formed, and shocked at the entire situation. After a moment of consideration, Allan pulled his arm out. "What are we gonna do, then?"

Taylor sighed. "She said she wanted to turn. I say we let her turn."

"Why would we do that?" Shawn asked, slightly annoyed. "We should put her down, save her from being one of those things."

"Her boyfriend turned," Malcolm sighed. "He died saving her. They didn't have time to put him down."

Shawn's eyebrow was high in the air, still not getting it. "And? We've got time. Between the four of us, I'm sure we make up at least one heart to give her mercy."

"I think she wants to be with him," Taylor said. "She wasn't with him when it happened. She probably thinks now, she can be with him. Both in heaven, and on Earth."

Shawn sighed, scratching his head. "You people are fucked up."

"Maybe we are," Taylor stated. "But what does it have to do with you? Let her die on her _own_ terms. She wants to turn, what's it to you?"

The farmboy's voice softened. "Okay," he said. "I'm sorry. It just feels kinda…"

"Inhumane?" Malcolm asked. "It feels a bit like that to us too. At least, to me," he said, then looked down to Taylor, who nodded his head, agreeing that it didn't feel exactly right. "But it's not up to me."

Shawn nodded and shifted his position, beginning to shiver at the cold wind of the night. "Alright, then. So let's bring her in. Be with her until the end. Hopefully she'll wake up eventually. Tell us how she really feels."

Malcolm and Taylor nodded in unison. They set to work, wrapping her bite up and moving her inside. They would wait, and be with her in her final moments.

* * *

><p><em>Though this is a bit later than intended, SURPRISE! Celebrating my spring break and the end of TWD Season 5, I'll be posting a chapter every day this weekend. Friday (today), Saturday, and Sunday!<em>


	44. Chapter 44: Us Against Them

**Chapter 44 "Us Against Them"  
><strong>**Day 100; Group C**

Three days. Seventy-two hours. Four thousand, three hundred twenty minutes. Two hundred fifty-nine thousand, two hundred seconds.

Time passed slowly. Painfully. Every waking moment fat and ripe with fear, tension, and hesitation.

They knew they were locked in a storeroom. They knew they were alone, the only people in there. They knew there was very little chance of escape. The walls were concrete, there were no windows, and the only door out of the room was locked with a padlock from the outside. Their only chance of escape was to attack someone when they opened the door for feeding or head-count.

The eight of them had no idea what was going on. They weren't sure why the were being held captive. They didn't know why they were locked into a cold, dark room. They didn't know what Merle and his people wanted from them. They didn't know what might happen to them at all.

Sierra sighed as she looked around the room, eyeing the piles of paper and old documents from when the train station was in order. The only thing in the room besides them was papers. When they had to, they used them as pillows. In the corner, they had designated a spot for bodily functions — and it was beginning to smell absolutely awful.

They needed to get out, and fast. Their hope was draining. They had attempted to fight their way out twice now, and both times they ended up injured or punished. At this moment, it marked their twentieth hour without food. They were to go without for two more full days.

Otis cradled his arm, which was still sore from the pellets shot at him by the guards. He sighed, shifting his weight and locked eyes with Sierra. They stared at one another, sadness permeating their gazes. They had worn thin their reassurances that they will get out and be okay. They wanted to believe they would. They were certain, with every fiber of their being, they would be released. But their chances looked slim.

Steve rolled over, waking up for the hundredth time in the past few hours. As he studied his fellow inmates, he thought about how hard sleeping was to do when you had no idea how safe you were. For Steve, that had been his whole life for the past three months. Though he was used to it, it didn't make it any more enjoyable.

Sierra had kept her eyes glued to Steve for the first two days. "It's us against them now," he had said to the group when they were first locked up. She couldn't help but distrust the stranger. Though he had presented himself to be nothing but kind to the group, she couldn't help but be uneasy. To escape this prison, though, she would have to trust him with her life.

* * *

><p>Merle sat in his office, a great smirk on his face as he spun around in his wheeled chair a bit. He flipped through photographs. They were polaroids of his new prisoners. As he flipped through, he attempted to memorize their names.<p>

"Zander. Or, was it Zavier? Javier?" Merle shrugged. "Smart kid, I guess. Could use a haircut, though. Lookin' like a little sissy."

He took the picture and sat it on his desk, beginning the start of the pile of pictures.

"Kelly," he said, again shrugging slightly. "I'd hit that.

"Gabriel. Another taco-bender runnin' around here. I wouldn't mind puttin' him out of his misery just to help clean up the world a bit. Do some good.

"Otis. What a sad, old fatass. Poor dude won't know what hits him.

"Shakira, I think it was. Hell yes. Spoiled little beaner, but hot as hell.

"Steve. He's gonna be hard to bring to our side. Hardheaded blond.

"Amanda. What'd Martin say her last name was? Bryor, I think?" he shrugged. "At least it's not Kimble, or some other 'K'-shit. Whatever, she looks like a party, though. Gotta have some drugs on her."

And, finally, "Sierra," Merle's great smirk returned to him. He licked his lips and unbuttoned his pants. Then he unzipped them and shoved a hand down his pants. "This one's about to get exactly what she deserves."

* * *

><p>Sierra lied on her back, an overwhelming sense of dread beginning to take over her. She looked down at the chipped, almost completely gone, nail polish on her fingers. Black, just like she felt. Lyrik had done them only a few days before they were all separated. She sighed, holding a hand to her heart as she let a tear roll down her temple and into her hair.<p>

She jolted upwards, readying her hands in preparation of using her fingernails as her last-resort weapons when light flooded the room.

"Shhh," a female whispered to her, silhouetted by the light behind her. "Come here," the figure beckoned.

Sierra raised a brow, squinting to make out detail of the woman's appearance, then looked to her friends, who were either asleep or looking at her with groggy, confused eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt you. Look," the woman said, turning a bag around her shoulders to her and pulling out some food.

The blonde on the ground licked her lips, but remained where she was. "How am I supposed to trust you?"

"You just are," the stranger said lightly. "Your other option is to starve."

While she spoke, a smaller figure creeped up behind her. As the figure approached, she stood in front of the light. She was a small, tan, brunette little girl.

"Poppie!" the stranger whisper-yelled. "Get back into the hall! You know you're not supposed to be out here!"

The small girl looked around nervously like a frightened puppy dog. She then turned and ran back towards the direction she had come from.

"Look," the woman said impatiently as she turned to look back as the girl fled. The light illuminated her face. She was white, with dark hair that appeared to be almost black. It was hard to tell, but she seemed to be quite pretty to Sierra. She threw what was in her hand into the dark room before grabbing another handful and throwing that in as well. "My name's Amanda. Remember me. Now, just take the food! I have to go!"

As the woman closed the door and locked it back, Sierra strained to see her comrades' faces. When her eyes finally adjusted back to the darkness, she saw that the food was on the floor still, and everyone was looking nervously among themselves.

Slowly, Sierra rose and grabbed a package of beef jerky. She opened it, and sniffed the delicious, tempting meat. The blonde couldn't help but sigh in pleasure as she inhaled the familiar scent.

After she took a bite, the rest of the group followed their leader and began digging into the food, biting into fresh fruits and nuts, devouring packaged meats, and savoring stale junk food. They were astonished at the woman's kindness, but couldn't help think perhaps she was playing them somehow. Either way, the group reveled in their bounty, enjoying it while they could. They wanted to take a break of thinking about potential ulterior motives, and to just celebrate the fact they had been given valuable nutrition.


	45. Chapter 45: West Little Rock

**Chapter 45 "West Little Rock"  
><strong>**Day 101; Group A&B**

Time dragged by; seconds, minutes, hours. It all began to blend together into painful waiting. Every second felt like a day.

Malcolm and Taylor sat by Sarita's side, tears dried up on their faces and their eyes still red from crying. She needed to wake up. She needed to hurry. They weren't sure if amputation would work anymore. They were fairly certain it would not. Not after the five hours that had passed. But even so, they needed to talk to her one last time. To say their goodbyes. To ask her how she truly wants to die.

The wind from hours before still raged on, rattling things outside the house and around the lands. It whispered a haunted moan among the house, making the boys even more uneasy.

Sarita was turning pale, her brown Indian skin becoming milky as hours passed. Though her chest was still rising and falling with the breath of life, she was dying. Everyone knew it; there was no question about it. Within the next twenty-four hours, she would be no more.

Lyrik walked in, sent by Shawn. She came up behind the two and put her hands on their shoulders as she observed the dying woman lying in the bed before them."I think it's time," she said to them quietly.

"Not yet," Taylor said coldly.

Lyrik bit her lip. "Shawn said it should be soon."

"Just give her a chance," Malcolm said, his voice cracking as he spoke for the first time in hours. He looked into the black girl's eyes, pleading for her to understand. "If she dies," he promised, "we'll do what we have to do."

Lyrik stared into the brunet's eyes, understanding his sadness. "Okay," she conceded. "I'll see what I can do to buy you more time. You both should really get some rest, though. Pretty much everyone else is asleep again."

"Thank you," Malcolm said curtly, turning his head back to his friend as Lyrik exited.

* * *

><p>Time passed, and Sarita still had neither woke up nor died. The sun was now beginning to rise. To no one's surprise, Shawn still wanted to get moving as soon as possible. Having been the one to take over for Taylor as lookout and thus missing out on sleep, it was an understatement to say he was cranky.<p>

"Either we're putting her down now, or we're leaving!" Shawn yelled in fury, bursting through the door into the room the trio was in.

Taylor and Malcolm looked up at him in unison, aggravated and depressed. Taylor rose to his feet, challenging the farm boy to order him around again.

"What, you gonna kill me?" Shawn asked cockily. "You hurt me, you and Mackerel are out of here!"

"My name's Malcolm."

"Whatever! You two kill me, there's no way you're getting out alive."

"Oh," Taylor said darkly, "I'm not going to kill you. I want you to _feel _what I'm gonna do to you."

"Are you threatening me?" Shawn asked, narrowing his eyes and getting in the larger man's face.

"Are you threatening Sarita?" Taylor questioned as he stepped closer as well.

"_She's_ the threat," Shawn declared. "And by keeping her alive, so are you."

Taylor punched the thinner man in the face, sending him reeling backwards.

The farm boy wiped blood off of his mouth as he looked up to the muscular man. "You son of a bitch!" he screamed, flinging himself onto the man and punching at his head, using his fingernails to scratch at him.

Malcolm rushed to his best friend's side and did his best to shove the firecracker of a leader off of him. Selenis and Beth, who were in the next room and had heard the commotion, rushed inside to help break up the fight.

When the two men were separated, Shawn spat blood onto the floor. "Five minutes, and that's it. If she doesn't wake up before then, you're putting her down and we're leaving."

Shawn stormed out, and Beth and Selenis said some quick apologies before following the leader, making sure he didn't fly off the handle again at someone else.

Malcolm and Taylor sat at Sarita's side in silence, having run out of things to say. They had already come to their decision of what they would do to her. They knew what she wanted.

It wasn't long after they sat down and caught their breath that they realized she had stopped breathing. "When did that happen?" Malcolm asked, grabbing the woman's arm in a panic as he searched for a pulse.

Taylor sighed as he rubbed his face. "I don't know. I guess she went while we were fighting." The large man's face began to turn red as he did his best to hold back tears. This was it. Sarita had died. Soon, she would turn.

They looked to one another and rose. Malcolm grabbed his knife from its holster as Taylor turned away. Malcolm walked to the blood Shawn had spat on the floor and rubbed his knife in it, trying his best to dye it in red. Taylor turned back, his eyes failing to hold back the tears.

"You know this is what she wanted," Malcolm said grimly.

When the knife seemed to be convincing, the two left the room and closed the door behind them to announce the news.

"Sarita's dead," Malcolm said sadly.

"Did you put her down?" Shawn asked, his voice still rigid and angry.

Malcolm silently pulled his knife out of its holster, showing off the red glimmer.

Shawn half-smile at the man. "You did the right thing," he comforted, putting a hand on both of the men's shoulders.

"You're right," Taylor said, his voice a depressed quiver, "we did."

* * *

><p>Hours later, the group was on the road, following Allan's instructions as he navigated them towards Little Rock.<p>

"Just don't go into the city," Allan warned them.

"Why not?" Shawn questioned. The group had never really gone to a large city, but they've been in plenty towns, and it seemed no different than just being out in the woods, in terms of the amount of people and walkers you would meet.

"Because cities are _dangerous_," Allan said as if Shawn was stupid.

"How are they any different to other places?" Shawn said, getting annoyed once more.

"Have you even taken a second to consider how? Think about how big the population was before this all started. Think about how many people turned, or died there. Before and after the outbreak. People were probably trapped in buildings, leaving entire skyscrapers full of walkers. Then, after, all the people that went there for sanctuary, or to scavenge. Cities are the breeding grounds for walkers."

Shawn drove on, still towards the city. He did feel quite stupid, not having thought about any of that before, but he wasn't certain if the man was telling the truth. He wanted to check it out for himself.

* * *

><p>After running into a few roadblocks, the RV had made it just outside of the city. It kept driving forward.<p>

"Shawn, I'm serious, turn around _now_!" Allan begged.

"Listen to him, Shawn!" Seth said, standing between the two men's seats.

"Look!" Shawn said. "The roads are completely clear. We can just drive through the city, make it to the place through there."

"That's not a good idea!" Allan yelled again. "You drive through here, you're gonna get all the walkers to come out of hiding and you're gonna lead a herd right to our new home!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shawn said, speeding up. Seth and Allan looked to each other in panic. Seth quickly grabbed a glass bottle they were using to make fires and smashed it over the back of Shawn's head. Allan quickly grabbed the steering wheel, doing his best to steady it as Shawn went unconscious. The pressure on the pedals slowly went away until the RV halted to a stop in the city.

"Quickly!" Allan yelled to Seth, demanding him to pull the leader out of his seat. When Shawn's body was removed, Beth ran to him and began to make sure he wasn't too badly injured as Allan moved into the driver's seat. "Hold on!" he warned them, revving the vehicle up and making a sharp turn as walkers began to materialize from all directions behind buildings and alleyways.

* * *

><p>They pulled up about an hour later, two blocks away from the gates of what was, according to Allan, West Little Rock.<p>

The walls stood tall, about ten feet high. They were intimidatingly massive, metal barriers that came to a peninsula in the middle of a road. According to Allan, there were two gates, one on both sides of the road. Currently, the group was parked outside of the south wall.

"You sure about this?" Seth asked, his hand on his gun.

"Of course," Allan stated. "You think I'd run all of you into a deathtrap?"

In the backseat, Shawn grumbled a "Yes," under his breath. Beth had a wet rag held to his head, and she shushed her brother. He rolled his eyes at the girl, contemptuous as ever.

"Here, here," Allan said, pointing to an approaching figure. "Look. That should be Boyd." As the figure drew closer, his hands up in the air, Allan realized it was not the person he thought it was. "Who… Oh! It's Kevin."

The group in the RV remained tense, wanting to trust Allan, but finding themselves uneasy. Each of them had a weapon prepared, ready for the worst-case scenario.

As he approached, his appearance became clear. He was a tall, lanky, thin man wearing cowboy boots, jeans, and a black leather jacket. He had a thick, gray mustache, and looked like a cowboy who had lost his hat. As he spoke, it became ever more convincing that he could have been a cowboy of some sort before the world ended. He had a thick southern accent, and spoke like a well-trained Southern boy.

"Howdy, everybody. How are y'all doin'?" he asked. "The name's Kevin."

After rolling down the driver's seat window, Seth nodded, taken aback by the man's friendliness. "Uh," he began, "my name's Seth. This is Allan," he pointed to the thin man beside him.

"Allan?" Kevin said, squinting and leaning his head into the window to get a good look. "Good Lord, it's Allan! Where the hell've you been? Where's everybody else? Is Patti here? Or Kelly? Dante? Ryan, and the girls?"

Allan smiled as Kevin recognized him, but it quickly dissipated as the cowboy interrogated him about his old friends. He shook his head at his old friend, uttering a quiet "No," and he quickly shut up.

"Oh," Kevin said sadly. "It's just you?"

Allan looked slightly offended, but shook his head once more. "Mika's here, too. Mika," he called for the girl to come towards him, "you remember Kevin?" Beth gave her a worried look, then looked to Shawn, who shrugged. Beth nodded her head to the young girl, but followed right behind her.

Mika came forward and looked out the window over Seth and a large smile came across her face. "Kevin!" she said happily, leaning over the bodybuilder to hug the cowboy's head. Beth stood behind, nervously eyeing the new man, her hand gripped firmly on her gun.

"Awww, Mika, you don't know how good it is to see you 'gain. I missed you and your sister's pretty little faces runnin' around here and distracting us."

The teenage blonde shook her head vehemently at Kevin as he mentioned Lizzie, but he paid her no heed until he realized Mika's smile was now a frown.

"Shoot, I'm sorry," he said, petting the girl's hair and pulling away. "Go on in, y'all," he said to the group. He pulled out a walkie-talkie and pressed a button on the side of it. "They're good, Boyd."

"You sure?" a deep voice replied through thick static.

"Oh," he smiled and licked his mustache, "I'm sure. There's some old friends on board."

* * *

><p>The group exited the RV and admired the scene before them. From a distance, it looked almost as if nothing had changed here; that the apocalypse had never struck. Aside from the armed people manning the walls about fifty feet between one another, the place looked like a happy, normal neighborhood.<p>

Apparently, protocol was to park the new residents' vehicles in the gates and walk them into the community, giving them a tour as they went. Clearly, this made a few people uneasy, but Kevin and Allan reassured them that everything would be fine.

There was one long road that ran perpendicular to the road the gates were on, which led from the gates to the lateral end of the estates. Along it were three large, white wind turbines.

As they walked down the road towards the main area of the community Allan walked side-by-side with Kevin, clearly feeling right at home. To their right, they saw a sign in front of a section that was cut off from the rest of the neighborhood that said "The Governor's Estates."

"Was this where the governor used to live?" Selenis asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Kevin smiled. "Arkansas' politicians and celebrities made a life here."

"Why's it still cut off?" questioned Shawn.

"Well," Kevin shrugged, "it's where the original members live. The people who made this place safe in the early days. Or, people who lived there before this all started. Like Boyd, or myself, or Allan here," he smiled.

"So, what's the deal with Boyd, anyways?" Shawn asked rudely. "Why didn't he come with us?"

"We can't leave the front gates lonely, can we?"

Shawn half-frowned as he looked back to see the dark-skinned old man eyeing the RV, checking the gas, and observing outer cabinets. "Well, then, what's he doing to our ride?"

"Protocol," Kevin stated, scratching his neck. "Making sure you didn't rig a bomb to it, or keep some members of your group hidden to come in and kill us all in the night. You can't be too careful no more."

Shawn opened his mouth once more, but his sister elbowed him in the ribs, telling him to shut up.

As they continued walking, they neared a large pond, where children were playing at. There was a teenage boy with dark black hair and a toned body splashing water at a blonde teenage girl. A much younger boy jumped in, joining on the splashing and playing.

Many of the members smiled at the sight, pleased to see there was still such joy in the world.

A tan-colored girl in a yellow floral dress with a stroller crossed the street as the group finally approached the public's estates. She had just come from a set of large buildings to the left of the group. Robert grew a huge smile as he pointed out the adorable toddler in the stroller to his boyfriend, who held his hand as they ogled fondly at the baby and his mother.

"These," Kevin pointed to the large buildings, "were the administration offices and apartments. Most of the apartments are empty, 'cause most of our residents prefer living in houses of their own, but any of y'all are welcome to live wherever you like when we git this all sorted out. Come on," he gestured, leading them into the central building.

As they walked in, they were hit with a burst of warm air; a feeling they only got in the RV. "You have heating?" Patricia gasped incredulously.

"And electricity?" Lyrik grinned.

"Yup," Kevin said. "Four underground generators, all powered by wind and solar panels on the top of the apartments."

"That's amazing," Lyrik and Malcolm said in unison.

Allan smiled at the cowboy beside him, admiring his modesty. "This place would be nothing if we didn't have Kevin here. He helped connect the generators to all the turbines and the solar panels."

"Aw," Kevin said, "weren't nothin'. Anybody coulda done that. Just 'cause I did it don't mean I did anything special."

Allan shook his head at the group, shrugging off Kevin's humility. "This man's a god. He can do _anything_."

The group smiled, never having seen Allan so happy and kind. It was refreshing to see a lighter side of the usually hateful man, and the environment around them helped them feel comfortable with the whole situation. No one had any idea that Allan could be so delightful, or have such a strong friendship with someone.

Kevin continued on, bringing them down a hall on the first floor of the apartment complex and into a large office. In a desk at the far wall sat a plump, middle-aged man with an aging, wrinkled face and graying black hair. "Hello!" he resounded. He nodded to Allan and smiled at Mika. "It's good to have you back," he greeted before looking over the rest of the crowd. "So you're the new people?"

"Yes, sir," Shawn said, stepping up as leader.

"Well, you all seem quite weary." He locked eyes with Seth, Shawn, Beth, and Robert, who were either limping, were missing fingers, or had scars or bruises on their face. "I'll try to keep this short so you all can go get Doctor Carson to make sure you're doing well."

They all seemed relieved to hear they had an actual doctor on board. "Thank you," Beth said with a kind smile.

"Of course, my dear," the plump man said. "Firstly, how about introductions? My name's Jim Dupree, and I'm the one in charge here. Welcome, to West Little Rock."


	46. Chapter 46: Welcome

**Chapter 46 "Welcome"  
><strong>**Day 102; Group A&B**

Selenis opened her eyes to the morning light. For a minute, she was scared at the unfamiliar surrounding, and she nearly called out for somebody — Shawn, Seth, Robert, somebody. She hardly remembered even going to bed Then, it hit her. She grabbed the soft sheets she was laying beneath and threw them off of her. She was in a safe place, she knew, but she could not be too sure.

She slipped on her pants and grabbed her gun. She went down the hall and checked the rooms. To her relief, Patricia and Seth, who decided to share a house with her, were accounted for. They were perfectly fine, as far as she could tell. Sighing in reassurance, she had a strange realization. She could go downstairs and make coffee. She could make breakfast. Finally, she could have real food; eggs, milk, and maybe a bit of bacon. And when she was done, she could go use the restroom on a nice, clean, porcelain toilet that didn't stab her in the bottom with every breath.

The Latina smiled to herself as she hurried downstairs to make her housemates a breakfast they could truly enjoy.

* * *

><p>By noon, everyone in the group that had entered West Little Rock the previous day, aside from Allan who had moved back into the Governor's Estates and Mika who was sleeping in, was awake and were sitting together in Shawn and Beth's house.<p>

"Look," said the leader, "I know what I said the other day — that we should stay on guard, and to not trust them. But look at this place! They gave us three houses, all for ourselves. They've given us plenty of food and water. I think they trust us. How about we trust them?"

The group smiled at one another in content, looking among themselves in joy. It felt like an immense weight was lifted off of their shoulders. Lyrik began to clap, and soon the whole group was clapping, or cheering, or laughing.

Interrupting their celebrations of finding a new home, there was a loud knock on the door. Immediately and instinctively, they all tensed, but Shawn stopped them. He smiled, attempting to reassure the group and remind them that things were okay here.

Shawn walked to the door and opened it wide. Before him stood Jim, Allan, and a very muscular black man, all three of which holding large duffle bags. "Hello," Shawn said with confusion.

"Hello, Shawn," Jim grinned as he looked past the farmboy. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything. I was just coming to inform you that, in honor of the return of Mika and Allan, as well as meeting the ten of you, tonight we're having a barbeque in the driveway of the apartments. It's at 4 o'clock, so don't be late!"

Shawn looked back to the group, once again pointing them at how friendly these people were. "We'd be happy to come," he said back to Jim. "But, um, what are the bags for?"

"Oh, right!" Jim bellowed, then laughed at his forgetfulness. "These are for you all. We wouldn't want our favorite new members walking around the community in those filthy old rags you've all got on, would we?"

Shawn shrugged, agreeing that they needed new clothes to go with their clean bodies. "Seth, Taylor," he called for his strongest men to come get the bags. As the two men toted them back to the group and everyone excitedly began going through their new clothes, Shawn looked to his new leader. "Is there anything we should bring?"

"Other than yourselves, _clean_," he joked, "no. Our hunters, Roger and Tavis, this guy here," he gestured to the dark-skinned stranger, "got us a good lot of deer, and we need to eat it all before it goes bad. Tavia, our head chef, has everything else covered."

Allan nodded behind Jim, recalling the excellent cooking skills of Tavia. "You guys are gonna love her potato salad."

Shawn shook his head at the three men before him, "Sounds great," he reaffirmed them.

"See you then," said Jim as he waved a farewell.

* * *

><p>The group, aside from Allan, who was now more concerned with seeing everyone again, traveled together to the party, being cautious and reminding everyone that they are a unit. When they arrived at the poolside area behind the main building, everyone grew quiet.<p>

The cacophony of the crowd faded as people tried to steal glances at the newcomers. Some people were ooh and ahh-ing, thinking some of the members of the group. Others weren't doing a great job of hiding their disgust at some of the group, such as spitting at the sight of Robert and Greyson's handholding, or holding a grudge on the way Shawn acted when he first entered and giving him dirty looks.

Beth held Mika's hand as they walked up to the party, but the young girl quickly released her grip from the older blonde as she noticed a group of other children. She laughing gleefully to herself while Beth worriedly tried to keep up. Beth and Shawn, who had taken notice of the running, sprinted towards them.

"Mika!" she shouted, attempting to corral the girl.

"Julia! Mia!" Mika sounded delightedly, playfully tackling two girls. One was slightly shorter than Mika, and the other one was slightly taller. The three all fell to the ground as the young blonde pounced on the two young brunettes.

A man and two women panickedly turned at the noise of the girls' collective screams of pain at the impact and excited yelling of each others names.

A short, plump woman, who was pale with hair as black as coal limped towards them, helping to make sure the three were okay.

The couple watched as the large woman dusted the girls off, and when the duo was certain they were alright, they turned back to their friends, continuing conversation.

"I'm so sorry," Beth gasped, lending a hand to the plump woman and the girls. "Mika, I told you to stay right next to me. Are you all okay?"

"We're okay," the taller brunette child said kindly, and her younger counterpart nodded in agreement.

"I'm really sorry," Beth said, looking to the two and the large woman.

"They'll be alright," the woman said with a grin, revealing perfectly white teeth. Beth pursed her lips, reminded of the three months she had gone through with barely ever touching a toothbrush.

Realizing Beth was staring blankly at the woman in amazement, Shawn piped up to diffuse the tension. "I'm Shawn," he extended a friendly hand, "Shawn Greene. This is my sister Beth. Are you their mom?"

"Runae Manson," the woman with coal-black hair smiled. "No, I'm not their mom. I'm just kind of, um. I'm like the daycare lady, I guess. A full-time babysitter for the kids here," she laughed, trying to make light of her job. "I hope you're both enjoying it here so far."

Beth nodded shyly. "We are. It's wonderful here."

"Hell of a-" Beth shot Shawn a glare, and he quickly went back on his words, giving apologetic glances to the offended-looking children. "_Whole_ lot better than out there. I mean."

"I'm sure it is," Runae said, looking down at the ground. "I'm not sure how any of us can repay you all for taking care of Mika."

"Well," Beth shrugged, "it wasn't that hard. She's a pretty smart girl."

"Momma, can I go play with Julia and Mia?" the young girl interrupted, having been talking with her friends and not paying attention to the adults' conversation.

"Uh, I guess," Beth stuttered, both taken off guard by being called 'Momma' and out of concern for Mika's safety. "But show me their parents first. And be back in a few hours, okay?"

"Okay," Mika smiled, leading Beth to the distant couple from before.

"'Momma?'" Runae repeated, just as shocked as everyone else.

"Y-...yeah. Um, Beth decided to take over as Mika's caretaker after we all got separated a few weeks ago. I don't...I've never heard Mika call her that."

Runae nodded, a very friendly grin upon her face. "Well, I'm happy, then."

"You are?"

"Of course. Mika needs a family."

Shawn nodded, suddenly reliving the images of Lizzie's dead body, the two mangled bodies of Ron and Jessie lying on top her. He remembered Ryan, and the way he just seemed to shut down and abandon what little hope was left. _If Ryan's still alive,_ Shawn thought, _he's either found a sanctuary like this, or has finally got his head screwed back on right._ Shawn didn't think Ryan was still alive.

"Plus," Runae said happily, "it shows me you people aren't _all_ bad."

* * *

><p>Taylor and Malcolm headed right for the tables of food and various drinks. They both poured themselves a cup of punch and stood awkwardly by, watching as children played and adults gossiped, attempting to take their minds off of Sarita's death.<p>

Clearly, though, it had failed. "Do you think we did the right thing?" Malcolm asked dejectedly.

"I think we did what she wanted us to," Taylor sighed. "Was it right, though? I'm not sure."

The two stood uncomfortably around the snack bar the whole time they were there as people held conversations. An hour in, Malcolm frowned as he saw Beth, Shawn, and Mika speaking to Kevin, a bald old black woman, and the large, dark man from before — _Travis?_ Malcolm pondered._ Tavis?_

Taylor watched everyone in the group, and the way others were reacting to them. Seth and Selenis were talking with the mother and her child they had all seen the day before. Robert and Greyson seemed to have found some nice people, Lyrik was talking with the blonde girl in the lake from yesterday, and Patricia was talking with two women who appeared to be around her age.

Distracting the two men from their quiet surveying of the people, an attractive Latino walked up to them.

"Hello?" the man greeted amusedly that they had not noticed him.

"Oh," Taylor said, looking away from his friends, who he was making sure were okay.

"Hi," Malcolm hesitantly smiled.

"My name's Roger," the tanned man grinned.

As Malcolm struggled to find words, Taylor extended his hand to shake the man's. "My name's Taylor, and this mess over here's named Malcolm."

"Hey!" Malcolm playfully yelled.

Roger looked between the two, trying to get to a point. "It's a pleasure to see some new, and familiar faces around here. Did you two know Kelly?"

"Uh," Malcolm raised a brow, "I think I heard of her once or twice. I'm not sure."

"Yeah," Taylor commented. "It sounds familiar, but Kelly's a really common name."

Roger half-frowned. "I see. Do you know who might know?"

Malcolm shrugged. "Not us. We've only been with them for like two weeks now. That short Mexican woman over there," he pointed to Selenis, "she would know."

With an air of happiness returning to his voice, Roger issued a quick "Thanks," and ran to the woman, desperately searching for an answer to Kelly's fate.

* * *

><p>Robert and Greyson looked into each other's eyes, gripping their hands tightly together, and they made their way forward, introducing themselves to a kind-looking couple. It was a man and a woman; the male had long hair and sat in a wheelchair, missing his left foot, and the female was short with glasses and brunette hair done up in a ponytail.<p>

"Hello," the disabled man greeted the boys kindly and extended a hand to the duo. "I'm Terrance, and this is my wife Tina," he grinned as he gestured to the woman beside him.

Greyson shook first, introducing himself and his boyfriend.

"I'm really sorry about all the stares," Terrance apologized. "They're just…" he stopped himself, and attempting to find a good word.

"Scared?" Robert asked seriously, looking among the crowd. Greyson, who had gone back to holding Robert's hand, tightened his grip, afraid his lover had offended the man.

Terrance studied Robert's deadpan expression as he observed the people of West Little Rock almost carelessly. He looked to his wife, and they smiled politely at the duo. "Honestly," the long-haired man chuckled, "yeah. They can be a bit, uh, hostile, to new people. No, hostile's not the right word."

Robert nodded in understanding, returning his focus to the couple. "I can't say I blame them. A group of dirty, beaten, battered, and angry-looking people showed up at my doorstep, I'd _run_."

The four shared a laugh, and it reassured them all they were, in fact, getting on well.

As his laugh subsided, Greyson locked eyes with a man that was glaring daggers at him from across the pool, and he put his head down in slight shame.

"You okay?" Robert asked softly.

"Yeah," the freckled boy reassured him. "I'm just a bit scared."

Tina looked in the direction Greyson had and noticed what the issue was. "Don't worry about him," she said. "That's Mike. He talks a big game, but he's completely harmless."

"Which one was it?" Robert asked.

"That big, white one. Looks like he was hit in the face with a baseball bat and told he was still beautiful," Greyson said, trying to make light of the situation.

The brunette boy found the man, a fat redneck with only three teeth. The man noticed he was being watched and met Robert's eyes, who gave him an intense, threatening glare. The redneck's eyes went wide and he put his focus back on the two girls in front of him, who appeared to be his daughters.

"Why does everyone here seem so hateful?" Greyson asked as this was happening, trying to move on.

"Honestly," Terrance said quietly and wheeling himself closer, "I think they may be a bit...brainwashed."

"What?" Robert said, his attention caught.

"Jim, the leader here," Tina said, "I know he means well, but he's kind of...lying to them all. He's not wrong, it _is_ dangerous out there. Much more than in here. But he says that all the people left out there are wild, hostile animals. He's doing everything he can to make sure he doesn't lose more people."

"_More_ people?"

"Well, you know about Allan and Mika, right? They used to live here."

"Yeah, I know that, but...do you mean that more people left here than their group?"

"From what I've heard," Terrance stated with a nod. "You guys knew Ryan, right?"

"Of course," Greyson said.

"Well, he kind of started the whole thing, about moving out. He left because he wanted to be the leader, because he thought Jim was doing an awful job. He took his girls, and a handful of people left with him to keep his girls safe from his stupidity. After that, people started leaving in batches, and it got ridiculous. Jim lost it, locked down the place, and transformed this place. At least, from an insider's perspective. He made this thing he calls a 'Leader's Council,' and started his propaganda about the world outside being a wasteland."

"So, what, we can't leave now?" Robert asked, taken aback. They didn't have plans to leave, but not having the option to made it sound like they were prisoners. "We're trapped in here?"

"I wouldn't say trapped," Terrance shrugged, "but yes."

* * *

><p>That night, as they were all laying down in their own beds, Selenis wrote in an old book she had found. She flipped through the pages, past many entries that could have been written by anybody. One passage she had found detailed a young girl's struggle with her father, who she had to put down after he stormed out of a house they were taking refuge in, only to get bitten and crippled in the middle of the woods, unable to navigate back home.<p>

She wrote about her first impressions, and the stories she had been told about Ryan and the other people they had met with him. She wrote about the way the place seems to be handled, and how she hopes it remains a safe haven. She wrote about how concerned she is for her people, but how happy she is to have found a place where Mika could be happy.

"Truly," she inscribed on the wrinkled paper, "they have given us a wartime welcome."


	47. Chapter 47: Wartime

**Chapter 47 "Wartime"  
><strong>**Day 120; Group C**

Merle sat in his office, biting his nails angrily. His prisoners had finally been released, but they were unruly. They would not obey his commands, and they threatened his position as leader. Even some of his own people had total respect for the prisoners. Somehow, Merle had failed to fool his people into believing that these intruders are foul, awful people. Which to him, they kind of were. But he knew better than that.

"_Merle_!" shouted a bony, brown man, bursting through the doors in a panic.

"What?!" Merle yelled back in surprise.

"There's a fire! It's headed this way!"

"A fire?" Merle questioned gruffly.

"Come look for yourself!" the Indian man yelled.

Led outside, the two men watched as the surrounding areas changed from green and white to orange and black. The smoke was thick, and the fire was approaching their train station base.

"Sutan," Merle commanded, "go get everyone, grab everything you can."

"Everyone?"

The older graying man stood and thought for a moment. "No. Leave the prisoners. I'll go make try to get the train ready."

"I thought it didn't work," Sutan said, already racing back inside.

"You got any other ideas?" Merle shouted, and was met with a short flash of worried eyes before the bony man disappeared inside the building.

* * *

><p>Shakira sat in the cell they had been packed away in for weeks, crying once again. She could not help the overflow of tears; this cage they were rotting in made her feel like she was going insane.<p>

The sad woman was horrified as she realized that they were now becoming used to the smell of their own human waste. It was especially obvious when one of the kind people of the train station group came to sneak them nourishment and had to plug their noses.

She thought of her family. Her brother, Gerard. Her mother and father. All of her friends. Abi-Maria, even though she had never been pleasant. Selenis. Oscar. Every single one of them was gone, and there was nothing she could do about it. This world was harsh, and it was cruel — it ripped away everyone she had ever loved, and it wasn't satisfied. Deep down, she knew that no one would survive this. _There is no possible way_, she thought. _No one is meant for this — can do this. Not forever… I miss you. The shadow of you still haunts me. All the words we said, they keep floating around._

A loud commotion began outside of the cell, alerting her and awaking others who were dozing. It was unclear what was happening, but they were clearly in a panic.

A muffled "No!" could be heard from outside of the door before it abruptly flew open, Mandy and Amanda standing in the doorway. They both had bags around their shoulders, and Amanda held a large rifle.

"Let's go!" Amanda shouted, gesturing for them to follow her. Behind the two women, Sutan angrily sighed and kicked back into action, continuing to grab supplies.

Hesitantly, the prisoners began to stand, unsure of everything that was happening.

"Come on!" Amanda repeated, and they all stepped up, realizing the urgency in their captors' motions.

The eight of them raced from the dark chamber, relief and worry flooding them at the same time in a confusing mix of emotions. They were led into a large room that appeared to be their sleeping quarters. Many people dashed about, packing things in bags and preparing themselves panickedly.

"There," Amanda pointed to Axel, who was struggling to hold a bounty of bags. "There's your things. Get them, arm yourselves, and follow Axel. Do whatever he tells you, and you'll be okay. Mandy, Poppie, and I have your backs, okay?"

"What's going on?" Xavier questioned as his friends ran for their bags.

"Wildfire," she said, continuing her packing. "We have to move."

Once people got their things sorted, they left, racing outside to the train, which had roared to life and blown its horn as they scrambled.

Most people were gone, save for Mandy, Poppie, Shakira, Axel, Gabriel, and Sierra and Amanda, who were attempting to help them.

"Mom!" Poppie cried sadly.

"What, dear?" the aging brunette panted, cleaning out the last of their belongings.

"I lost Lilly!"

"Did you check the stockroom?" Mandy asked, distracted by the task at hand.

Poppie ran out of the room, searching for her doll.

Sierra and Amanda turned from looking outside the back window, and noticed that Poppie was gone. "Where did Poppie go?" Amanda asked, frantically running through the room, searching for the young girl.

Mandy raised her head and realized what she had just done. "Hell!" she screamed, slamming her suitcase closed. "I told her to go to the stockroom!" she yelled after Amanda, who was already running out of the room.

The middle-aged woman then began tightly packing her daughter's bag, doing her best to ensure that they could run when they came back.

"I think we're good now," Axel said to Gabriel and Shakira, who he had tasked with helping him get the last of their guns.

Axel led the way outside, carrying everything he could. Behind him was Gabriel, followed by Shakira, who was struggling greatly to keep hold of all that she could.

They escaped out the back door, Axel heading the way to the caboose of the roaring train. Walkers were coming out of the woods, some ablaze from the encroaching wildfire.

Impressively, Gabriel managed to keep his footing while toting all of the weapons and bags he could. Unfortunately, the story was not the same for Shakira, who continued to drop weapon after weapon, and did her best to pick them back up each time. Walkers and flames were getting closer, and she was beginning to panic. Things were rapidly falling apart, and everything was collapsing in on her. Her mind was betraying her, making her wild and frazzled, unable to focus on getting to safety.

"Shakira!" Gabriel yelled, realizing the young Latina had fallen behind greatly, and was clearly having a breakdown. "Shakira, just leave them! Run!"

The woman lost her train of thought. As the fire roared before her, she recalled her family. She remembered all of the deaths she had witnessed. Strangers and loved ones alike, perishing brutally before her.

As she struggled with the supplies in her hands, she was thrown off-task by a walker that had managed to catch up to her from the flames not far from her. It approached at a shamble and dug its foul jaws into the frail woman's shoulder. She wailed in agony and immediately realized what was happening.

She began stripping herself of all of the supplies she had been given, dropping them sloppily around her. She thought they could be grabbed by others who would follow her and could be salvaged. "I'm sorry," she called to Gabriel as more walkers stumbled out of the flames.

Gabriel watched as his friend, the poor soul, was offed by the cruelty of this world. _She could have made it,_ he thought. _We could have found somewhere safe, and she could have made it. She could have become stronger and smarter._

He bit his lip, turning his back on the scene that he thought to have been caused by sheer stupidity. Though she likely would not have defended herself well anyway, she should have stopped being so stuck in her head. If she had taken a moment to collect herself, she would have just left behind the supplies and kept running for her life. If anything, she would have noticed the walker and could have ran, or grabbed something to try to put it down.

She may not have been very strong or useful to the group, but she was a good person. Shakira was kind, smart, and helpful. Sure, she had recently been spending most of her time crying, but she was still a beautiful human being.

He entered the train, throwing his supplies down and preparing guns for what was likely to come as Axel remained in the open hatch of the train cart, praying for the others to make it out alive.

After moments of watching and hoping, he realized the flames had spread to the front of the building. The forefront of the train station was on fire, burning through the wood and to the foundations. The train roared once more, signalling that Merle had given up on them.

The large, bearded man had learned long ago not to question Merle. Usually, he was right when it came to things like this. But then, his heart racing back into action, he saw Sierra and Amanda run out of the doors. Quickly, he bolted off to make sure Merle waited just a bit longer.

The two women panted as they ran, firing rounds into walkers that had began to surround the area. Behind them, Mandy pushed out of the doors, holding her young daughter's hand. "But Lilly!" the girl yelled, angry to have lost her doll.

"We don't have time!" Mandy screamed.

Poppie leaned forward and bit her mother's hand, running back towards the building. As she entered, she realized the flames were overtaking the whole building. It burned powerfully, roaring madly as it devoured the walls, doors, and furniture in the building. The girl quickly regretted her decision and turned back, but was met instead by a walker that had got in between her and her mother, who was desperately trying to find a weapon of some sort to take down the undead human.

"Moooommm!" Poppie yelled, her voice tiny and frail.

"I'm coming, Poppie!" the mother yelled, giving up on finding a weapon. She dropped her luggage and sprinted at the walker, kicking it down. The biter fell forward, towards the young girl, and she screamed, falling on her backside. Her hair fell into the flames and caught fire. As Mandy attempted to recover from the kick, she used a singed plank of wood to ran through the walker's skull and put it down. Then, she panicked, running for her child, who was screaming as the flames spread up her locks and onto her face.

It was a disgusting, brutal sight as the girl fell victim to the blaze. Mandy grabbed her up, turned around, and ran with her suffering child, patting her down with her dress, attempting to save the girl.

Sadly, it was too late. The damage had been done, and by the time the flames on her precious daughter were extinguished, she was unsavable under these dire conditions. Now, she was suffering. Amanda had come back for them, and the four made it onto the train. Poppie was using the last of her strength to scream in agony.

"Mandy," Amanda said, looking sadly into her friend's eyes.

"No," she said, tears already running down her face.

"We have to," Amanda said as gently as she could. "There's no other choice. Not anymore."

Mandy gripped onto her daughter, who had passed out from the pain.

"She's out, Mandy. We have to do it now. If she survives, she'll just be in more pain and trauma when she wakes up. If not, she'll turn."

The mother looked down at her daughter sadly. She nodded, and lifted the girl's skirt to reveal that the walker that had fallen on her had also bitten her leg.

Before the flames overtook the whole area, Amanda put Poppie down. When they were all on board, the train took off, bolting away from the awful situation.

* * *

><p>Not long after the train was in motion, Merle appeared from the front of the train. He had left Sutan in charge of making sure it stayed on a safe path.<p>

He looked around the room and locked eyes with Sierra, Xavier, and his other ex-captives.

"Which one of you let the prisoners out?" he spat.

Most of Merle's people put their heads down, knowing who it was, and that they would likely be punished.

"It was me," Axel boldly stood up.

Merle took a step forward, his face twisted in rage.

"And me," Amanda said, standing from Mandy's side.

"And me," Mandy said frailly.

"Well, looks like you're _all_ gettin' thrown from the train. Your little girl can stay with us, though," he taunted.

"My 'little girl' is dead," Mandy said coldly.

Merle's eyes flashed remorse, but he kept his sense of power.

"One less mouth to feed," he said.

Gabriel looked up angrily to the gruff man. "Say that again," he dared him.

"You talkin' to me, taco-bend-"

Gabriel rose from his seat, knocking Merle in the head with the rear end of a machine gun. Steve and Xavier came forward, tying up the man to a post in the corner of the cabin.

"Things are about to change," Sierra promised to Merle's weary people. "There's not going to be any more tyranny. No more racism. No more sexism. No more _unfair treatment_. From here on out, you are all equal. We're going to ride this train as far as we can, and find a place to hunker down and recover. And if you still want this asshole as your leader, then you can leave with him. _Peacefully._ I refuse to turn this disaster into war; we're already in wartime."


	48. Chapter 48: Newbies

**Chapter 48 "Newbies"  
><strong>**Day 124; Group A&B**

The group was settling in nicely. They had been accepted, mostly, by the residents of West Little Rock, and everyone was making friends. Everyone in the group was beginning to volunteer for jobs, which were often with the new friends they had made, friends among the group, or jobs that fell into their usual role in the group.

Shawn, Greyson, Robert, and Seth volunteered to be on the scavenging and hunting crew. Beth, Selenis, and Taylor have joined the safety and patrol group, acting almost as officers. Malcolm decided to help Allan and Boyd with gate duty and recruiting, Lyrik joined the chefs, and Patricia joined the medics.

Any doubts or reservations they had about the community had vanished within the three weeks they had been there, learning the ropes and the ins and outs of the area. It seemed to truly be a happy, peaceful place of home and sanctuary. They had all began to get comfortable, and ease back into regular life. Things felt almost normal again.

* * *

><p>Shawn woke late in the morning, already falling back into his old ways. His eyes opened wide in the bright sunlight as he soon picked up on the smell of eggs and waffles. A wide grin stretched across his face.<p>

He pulled on a pair of sweatpants, foregoing a shirt in the warmth of the house, and trotted downstairs to see Mika and Malcolm sitting at the table while Beth scrambled eggs for them. The leader shrugged off the man being around Beth once again, trying to let it go. She was growing up, and the world has changed.

"Good morning," the farmboy calmly said to the room as he walked past the young girl and ruffled her hair, headed to the stove to help his sister.

"Morning," they all said consecutively.

"You goin' on that run today?" Beth asked with a false calmness.

"Yes, I am!" the man said excitedly.

Malcolm chuckled, knowing Beth wasn't nearly as excited about that, and wondering what could be so fun about going on runs. His own job was usually quite boring, as he often just sat around the gates playing cards with Allan and Boyd.

"Is it fun?" Mika asked lightly.

"Not exactly," Shawn shrugged. "It's just great to get out of these walls. And to let out some frustrations on the world out there."

"Do you really need to?" Beth asked, her falseness receding and allowing a frown to form. Shawn had been doing so good recently; he was calming down and becoming kinder, like he once was. The blonde was afraid that Shawn would snap and go back to his awful, hateful ways if he were to spend too much time around all that negativity again. The last thing the group needed was for Shawn to go back to being crazy and paranoid once more.

"Take out my anger? Maybe not. But go out there? Of course I do," Shawn said with a cocky grin. "They need me."

* * *

><p>Lyrik stood in the lobby of the registration building, fidgeting nervously. A young girl Lyrik recognized passed by with her friend, a boy of similar age with a striking face, and waved at her.<p>

"Oh, hi, Michelle," Lyrik said, her voice cracking as she greeted Jim's daughter and the unfamiliar boy.

A smile marked the teen's face, but deep down she was panicking. Today was her first day of work, and she was scared she might mess up. Tavia, Robert, and Greyson had reassured her everything would be fine, however, and she put faith in their words.

_Why are you nervous about _this_? _the teenager questioned, recalling some of the sights she had witnessed within the last few months. _Even after all this, new people and new jobs still freak me out._ She sighed, slightly annoyed at herself for being more scared about cooking than sleeping in strange houses with undead people roaming around outside.

"Lyrik?" Tavia interrupted. She was dressed in a black garb stereotypical chefs on television would wear, which fitted her dark form nicely. Her name was sewed into the uniform in bright gold, the same color as her nail polish. Her kind face stared at the nervous young girl, who nearly jumped from fright when her name was called. "Are you okay?"

"Oh," Lyrik sighed, waving a hand in her face as a fan, "yeah, I'm good."

"Don't be," the head chef told the girl, repeating herself for the seventh time. "You'll be fine. The others won't hurt or be mean to you, and if you mess up, we can always fix it. There's seasonings for everything," the older woman joked.

After Lyrik got dressed, her uniform lighter and more gray than Tavia's, they entered the large kitchen, where two other girls who looked to be about Lyrik's age were working in identical outfits to hers. One was white and quite round. When she smiled, it could be noted she was missing a tooth among her crop of yellow fangs.

"I'm Jessica," she greeted Lyrik kindly. Her accent was very southern, and very thick.

"I'm Lyrik."

"It's nice to have some more hands around here. You newbies really are a relief to us all."

Lyrik nodded and turned to the other girl. "You can call me Bella," she smiled. Lyrik recognized her to be the same girl that they had seen with a child in a baby stroller when they first arrived.

"Isabella?" Lyrik guessed.

"Yeah," Bella nodded politely.

"How old are you two?"

"Just turned twenty the other day," Jessica stated.

"I'm seventeen," Bella nodded.

"I'm nineteen," Lyrik nodded. "Why are there only teens here?" she asked Tavia, who was much older than any of them there.

"Well," Tavia shrugged, "that's just the way it worked out today. We have another, older guy named Kyle. He's off duty today, though. But not many of the older people want to cook, I guess," she said with a laugh. "Come on then, girls. Enough yammering. Let's get this shop open!"

* * *

><p>Boyd and Allan sat at a table, cards in hand and many on the table as they played poker. Malcolm stood over them, walking back and forth along the wall with a pair of binoculars in hand and a rifle strapped over his shoulder.<p>

Boyd leaned over and spat down to the ground from their elevated platform, high up on the walls by the gates. It landed on the ground and made a loud splat. There were similar wet spots along the road below them, all at different distances. Allan observed the spit and chuckled, "Beat me again. I fold."

"Beat you in more ways than one," Boyd grinned, showing off his winning hand, causing Allan to groan in annoyance.

"My turn now?" Malcolm asked as the two fought between themselves, laughing and yelling.

Allan stood up, still yelling at Boyd, "You have to be cheating!"

"You're just not that good, boy."

Allan looked over the wall and tapped Malcolm on the shoulder before he could sit down. A car was approaching the walls. It was light blue and looked very old and beat up. The two remained silence and ducked down, readying their guns. "You got this?" Allan asked Malcolm.

Malcolm bit his lip in thought, nervous about leaving the walls for the first time. He recalled how he had reached out to Patricia, Beth, and Allan, though, and remembered that he could handle it. Allan and Boyd would be on the walls, covering him.

"Yeah," Malcolm said, his voice hard as he summoned courage to face strangers.

Malcolm slipped out of the large, metal entrance, Boyd careful to only open it enough for the man to walk through. Malcolm kept his gun cocked and ready in its holster as he approached the car, which was now beginning to slow as the driver noticed him.

The small, blue car stopped directly in front of Malcolm, and he could see through the windshield a woman with a stone-cold face in the driver's seat and an Asian-looking man with a scarred face next to her.

When they only gave him cautious glares, Malcolm walked to the driver's window and hesitantly spoke up. "Hello," he greeted, struggling to find words.

"Hi," the woman said coldly.

"Um," the long-haired man coughed nervously, "my name is Malcolm. I live behind these walls here."

"Okay," she said, making the situation much more awkward as she continued glaring him down, warning him to try something.

Malcolm fidgeted in place, adjusting his sleeves and wiping his brow. He collected himself and remembered what Boyd had told him to say. "This community is called West Little Rock. Behind it, there are nearly one hundred citizens. It is a safe, warm, family-friendly environment for people of every background and age. It is truly a community for all. If you would like to live here, you are welcome to; assuming you pass the interviews."

"Interviews?" the stone-cold woman repeated. "What, are we applying for a job?"

"In a way," Malcolm shrugged. "We can't have just anybody coming into our home, now can we?"

The woman nodded. "Smart. Never thought of interviews at the old place."

"Maybe that's why you're here," Malcolm said warmly, not realizing how harshly that struck the trio in the car, and causing the woman's anger to come back.

"What if _we_ don't want to live here?" the woman asked.

"Then I'm going to have to ask you to leave immediately."

"What, no food for the road? Not even going to let me through the gate just so I can make it onto the other side of this road?"

"I'm sorry," Malcolm shook his head. "I cannot do that."

The woman smiled and nodded to the man beside her, then to a very thin dark woman in the back seat.

"When can we audition?" she asked.

* * *

><p>Selenis arrived at Robert's house with Patricia and Seth, her housemates. The sun had set and the three of them were each carrying something. Seth held a large jug of sweet tea in one of his bulking arms, Patricia carried a plate of organic cookies, and Selenis held a plastic container full of mashed potatoes.<p>

Selenis knocked on the door and admired the dazzlingly bright white color painted onto the wood. The door opened slightly and an eye peeked out.

"Hey guys!" Greyson smiled, throwing the door wide open and letting the three in. "Can I help anyone?" he asked kindly.

"Could you please take these?" Patricia asked. "I nearly dropped them all on the way over!" she laughed.

"Of course," the boy laughed in return as he carefully took the plate of cookies and led them into the kitchen, where the rest of the group sat.

It was a group meeting between only the eleven of them. They tried to do this every other night, so that they could make sure the group remained on the same page and up to date with each other and their activities. They had the freedom to be their own people now, which Allan had taken full use of, but they knew it was not smart. They had to remain a unit, at least behind closed doors. At least while they were still getting a feel of the place.

They all held hands and hugged, celebrating their being together. Before long, they decided it was time to eat and they all dug in to the food they had brought for the night.

* * *

><p>"Yeah, Olga's great," Robert said with a smile as he swirled his fork in the spaghetti on his plate.<p>

"She's really funny, too," Greyson added, delighted about the woman they referred to.

"Well, I hope we all get to know her, too," Patricia laughed. "She sounds like someone we'd want to keep around."

Robert and Greyson nodded, giving each other a knowing look.

"Who made this cornbread?" Taylor asked.

"I did," Lyrik smiled.

"Well, it's great!" There were nods and hums of agreement all around the table.

"Didn't you start cooking today?" Shawn inquired.

"I did," Lyrik said after a gulp of sweet tea.

"How did that go?" Robert asked.

"It went okay. I didn't really learn anything new about cooking yet, though."

"What about the people?" Shawn asked seriously. "Who worked there?"

"Well, we all know Tavia works there, right?" Lyrik asked, getting nods in return. "Apparently, a guy named Kyle works there. Haven't heard of him yet. Mike's oldest daughter Jessica works there, too."

Robert scoffed in response. He had no reason yet to hate Jessica or her sister Alana, but their dad was despicable to him. "Is she nice?" he asked.

"_I_ think so," Lyrik squinted. "She's kinda weird, but she's cool." Robert nodded, turning back to the food before him. "You guys know that mom? The Mexican one with the little toddler?" Instantly when the baby was mentioned, heads flew up. Robert and Greyson locked eyes, but remained deadpan, giving no hints to their thoughts.

"She works there?" Shawn asked.

"Yup. Did you guys know she's only seventeen?"

"Wait, what?" Malcolm raised a brow, he and Patricia instantly looking to Beth.

"Right?" Lyrik said, her eyes wide as she showed the surprise she felt. "Her name's Bella and her son Angel's two years old!"

"She had him when she was _fifteen_?" Malcolm asked, getting another nod from Lyrik. "The dad's not Tavis, is it?"

"No, no, no," Lyrik shook her head. "Does that baby look black to you?" she joked. "The dad left her when he found out she was pregnant. Tavis is just her boyfriend, helping raise Angel. He's the step-dad, basically."

"Wow," Malcolm said, once again looking to Beth.

"Why do you all keep lookin' at me?" the blonde asked defensively.

"I'm sorry," the long-haired man said apologetically. "It's just 'cause she's the same age as you. It's weird to think of you having a baby of your own."

Beth looked down to Mika and shrugged. "In a way, I do."

Malcolm shrugged. Patricia smiled and patted the child's head. "You sure do."

"Well," Malcolm said after a long pause, "today we got some new people in."

"We did?" Shawn asked curiously. "Nobody said anything about new people since I got back from the run."

"Yeah," Malcolm nodded, making a personal note to remember to ask Shawn about his run when they finished this topic. "That's probably because they were being interviewed then. No one else had seen them yet. It's three people."

"Do you know their names?"

"I know the leader's name is Carley. I'm not sure about the other two, though, but I think it's Gale and Ken."

"Gale and Ken?" Shawn smiled. "Well, those are different. What do they look like?"

Malcolm laughed, remembering how nervous Carley had made him. "Carley, their leader...she's scary. She looks like she was a real nice person, but now, she just...yeesh. She has this dirty, intimidating look about her. It cuts right through you. You definitely don't want to be on her bad side."

Beth giggled at how put off Malcolm seemed. She had never seen him so uncomfortable, and she thought it was amusing and a bit adorable.

"Anyway, Ken's definitely the next guy in charge. He had a sniper rifle in his lap, so I think he's probably a good shot. He's Asian, and kinda buff. The other one, Gale, I didn't get a _very_ good look at her, but I know she's black and really thin. Like, too thin. I think something really bad might have happened to her."

Everyone continued on quietly, recalling some of the things they saw out there. Walkers that were clearly abused and mistreated before they had died. Tied up and nothing more than bones, now reanimated and snapping soullessly for flesh. There's no telling what might have happened to those people before they arrived. They all took comfort to think, though, that now, they had finally found peace. Those people, no matter what took place with them, were now in what they all believed to be their eternal sanctuary.


	49. Chapter 49: Favors

**Chapter 49 "Favors"  
><strong>**Day 130; Group A&B**

Sunlight glistened brightly through the dew-tinted window, spreading rays of light across the bedroom. It was morning, and today was a day of romance. A wedding was planned for today, and nearly everyone was going to attend.

Robert rolled over in the bed, sunlight shining too brightly in his face. As he turned, his nose became buried in a familiar head of hair that smelled of coconut and pineapples. The younger boy inhaled deeply the scent of his unconscious boyfriend.

He gripped himself from the bed, not wanting to get up, but knowing today was going to be important. He had to convince Greyson that what they were doing would be a good idea, and that it would not hurt them or anyone else. It would improve their lives, and the lives of all of their friends.

Though he could not cook, Robert tried his best. He easily made eggs and pancakes, but struggled slightly with the biscuits and tofu bacon. Thankfully, Lyrik was there to help him.

"I don't know why you're so nervous," she laughed.

"Well, it's a really big deal," Robert smiled.

"It is. But I've seen the way you two are; you're soulmates."

"You think so?" the boy asked dumbfoundedly.

"Of course," Lyrik nodded. "I've known you for way too long to not know when you've got it — and you've got it. This guy, he's the one for you. Not like Michael, or Zach, or Brody. Those guys were bad from the beginning — and I told you so, too!"

"I know," Robert laughed, finding it amusing that she _still_ strives to always be right. "You think we should get married first, though?"

Lyrik looked at the boy seriously. "It doesn't matter. It's the apocalypse. And marriage is just a word. You two can do whatever the hell you want now."

Robert shrugged and gave a nod. "Plus, I don't think Laura would want to marry us."

"Come here," the dark-skinned girl beckoned and pulled her friend into a hug, offering him her understanding. She stepped up on the tips of her toes and kissed his forehead, then they continued with Greyson's surprise breakfast.

* * *

><p>It was half-past noon and everyone was in their fancy dress. Women wore gowns and dresses of all sorts, some tripping in their high heels that they likely hadn't put on in months. Some men were locked in arms with these women, their faces stone-cold or uncomfortable in their tuxedos or cheap suits. The children ran around in similar clothes, and the whole town looked like it was throwing a masquerade ball minus the masks.<p>

The people of the community filed into the main administration building, and down the hall into a large room that was used as a sort of auditorium. The dark green rows of seats were dressed with white ribbons, which also lined the top of the walls.

On the far end of the room, on a slightly elevated platform, a large white arc of fake chrysanthemums stood powerfully. Before it, a cheap wooden podium stood, with a woman in a white and purple robe behind it. She was wrinkled and short, but stood as though she held utmost power, with a smile that seemed both friendly and occasionally condescending as she looked to certain people in the room.

When everyone was settled, the music began, bringing attention to an electronic piano that sat in the far corner of the room, out of the way of the stage. Runae sat on the seat, playing the traditional song for walking down the aisle.

Everyone turned their attention back to behind them as the entrance they had all used opened. Out bounced Mika's youngest friend, Julia, who began sprinkling rose petals down the aisle, adorable enough to get a few "aww"s out of the audience.

Not long after Julia entered, a gray-haired old woman walked out in a stunning white gown of made lace and satin. She looked overjoyed as she saw her fiance standing on the stage, and both appeared to be on the verge of crying.

It was then they notice the grom on the stage, who was large and robust, white hair lining his leathery head. He had an odd, almost unsightly tan on his face and body from too many years of spending too much time outdoors. Behind him stood a Boyd, Jim, and a man who appeared to be his son, as they looked almost like carbon copies, other than the tans and wrinkles. He stood in the best man's position, right beside his apparent father.

Opposite the man stood a middle-aged blonde woman who seemed a bit uncomfortable and occasionally gave a dirty look the the best man who was in her mirror position, as she was clearly the maid of honor, her dress much busier than that of the two women behind her. A blonde teenager stood next to her, and it seemed clear that she was the middle-aged woman's daughter. Behind her, stood a woman who looked to be near the same age as the bride, but she had more weight on her and was not as wrinkly.

The bride walked down the aisle slowly, her arm locked with a much younger man, who clearly was not her father, but instead looked to be her son.

"Is everybody related or something?" Shawn whispered to Seth, who shrugged with a confused expression.

The whole situation was very awkward for much of the group, who had no idea who any of the people involved were. Only Patricia, Beth, Mika, Lyrik, and Allan knew some of the people, and they informed some of the group that the man who walked with the bride was named Michael, sometimes called Junior by his mom. The blonde mother-daughter pair were named Alexandra and Sophie, respectively; the man behind the groom was named David, and Alexandra is his ex-wife, Sophie being their daughter. Alexandra has another son named John, whose dad died getting them to West Little Rock.

Before they could explain more, they were interrupted by the music coming to a halt and the ceremony beginning.

"Dear friends and family," Laura, the priest, began, "and all of the people of West Little Rock, we are gathered here today to honor and celebrate the union of Henry Keating and Betty Coleman in marriage. Through their time together, they have realized they are soulmates, and that their lives are most complete with each other in them. Their days are brighter, their dreams are lighter, and their goals seem nearer. The union of two people makes us aware of the changes wrought by time, but the future for love is still as luminent as it was before.

"What good would it do to shutter your windows, never dream of rainbows or find hope in promises? Why choose to walk away rather than hold your ground and fight for love? In this world, love can be be a burden; but it is also a blessing. It reminds you you are not alone. That you are alive, and can still feel. Never take it for granted, or overlook it. Do not undermine another person's love, because you believe it makes them weak. No, love does not make you weak. It makes you strong; stronger than anyone without it. Because it is you, who no matter what, will have someone by your side. You will have your significant other holding your hand into battle, or stitching your wounds after, or fighting to protect you."

Passionate and uninterrupted, Laura carried on with her monologue for nearly thirty minutes. She took her job very seriously, and found a true calling as a wedding officiator.

"Betty Coleman. Henry Keating. Your love is beautiful, and your union is inspirational. I, along with every single person in this room, wish you two wise, amazing souls nothing but the best, most blessed harmony and future. Is there anything you would like to say to each other?"

The large man smiled and appeared to become nervous as he cleared his throat. The woman holding his hands grinned and wiped sweat off of his brow, encouraging him with her eyes. "I, um," he began, "Betty. In the relatively short time I have known you, one thing has been absolutely apparent to me: your unrelenting love and commitment. Your compassion for all other lives, and your ambition to make the world a better place. You are the change we need in the world. You are the light of not only my, but so many people's lives here. Everything about you makes me feel like I have found the one; that now I can die happy, so long as you are by my side. All I want is you, forever. I love you."

People in the crowd were now audibly crying, including the two blonde bridesmaids.

Betty was blushing a bright tomato color, trying to recall her speech. When she was ready, she looked dead into Henry's eyes and poured out a heart. "Henry," she paused, giving him a very loving look, "you are my everything. Echoing your sentiment, though our time together has been short, I have loved every moment of it. You're supportive and kind, assisting or cheering me on in everything I do. When Michael died, you were there for me. You showed me that there was still beauty in the world; that there was still hope, and joy, and happiness. Without you, I'm not sure I'd be who I am now. With you, I am a better person than I have ever been. You are strong, and smart, and kind. You always know exactly what to say to me, and how to keep my spirits up even when the darkness comes back into my world. The type of man I need to keep me happy, to keep me sane, is you. I could not ask for anything more, and I want to spend every moment I can until it's my last wrapped in your arms."

People were weeping with joy as the couple stood there, radiating their love and glowing with hope. Even the minister was beginning to tear up as she tried to move on.

"Henry," Laura's voice slightly wavered. "do you take Betty to be your lawfully wedded wife, promising to love and to cherish, through joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, and whatever challenges you may face, as long as you both shall live?"

As a tear rolled down his face, Henry nodded and slipped a ring onto Betty's finger tenderly. "I do."

"Betty," the pastor turned, "do you take Henry to be your lawfully wedded husband, promising to love and to cherish, through joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, and whatever challenges you may face, as long as you both shall live?"

"I do," she replied, putting a ring onto Henry's finger.

"And now, by the power invested in me by the state of Arkansas, and the new town of West Little Rock, I hereby pronounce you man and wife," Laura declared proudly to the room. "You may now kiss the bride."

Henry ran his hands up his bride's arms and they pulled each other into a passionate kiss, resulting in an uproaring of applause and cheers.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Laura yelled through the roar of the crowd, "I now present to you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Betty Keating."

* * *

><p>Patricia exited the large room and sighed. She leaned against the wall behind a large plant, hoping no one would notice her. Her breath was trembling, and she was unsure why this was affecting her so much. The happy older couple reminded her of Otis, and her heart felt heavy. Something had happened to him, and she knew it.<p>

A tear fell and she couldn't help herself any longer. She was sobbing, and in her gut, she just knew something awful had happened to Otis. What is was, she wasn't sure, but she knew it was not good.

"You awright?" a slurry southern accent asked.

Patricia jumped slightly, quickly wiping the tears from her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, yeah. I am. I'm sorry."

Mike smiled as kindly as his odd face would allow, but Patricia understood. "Don' be sorry, ma'am. Ever'body gotta cry sometime." She smiled, and he glowed. He reached out a hand, offering her help to get her footing.

"Thank you," she said shyly. Suddenly, she had forgotten about Otis. His memory was pushed back in her mind as this kind man assisted her and showed her such kindness.

The plump man led her to the bathroom and politely waited outside for the elder woman to collect herself. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, she looked into the mirror, splashed a handful of water into her face, and smiled.

She exited the bathroom and thanked the man for his kindness once again.

"O' course," he replied.

Patricia understood the silence and modesty of southern men. "Let's go home," she said, attempting to be flirty, but unable to hide her slight hesitation. Mike nodded and held his arm out, which Patricia locked hers in.

* * *

><p>The sun began to set and Robert grinned out the window as the sun set. He looked down at his watch and his smile flashed into a frown. "Grey!" he called upstairs, "we're going to be late."<p>

"Coming!" Greyson's voice returned from the upstairs bathroom.

Robert set to packing half of the food he and Greyson had just cooked away in a tupperware container, leaving the rest for Lyrik and themselves later. He let out a chuckle as he realized how much they had been using their containers; he had never transported so much food in his life.

Thuds on the stairs alerted Robert that Greyson was ready. He turned around and gave the freshly-groomed boy a kiss. "You look great," Robert complimented, giving his boyfriend a container of the food they had made and quickly setting out the door.

They walked about two blocks from their home until they arrived at their intended destination. Greyson knocked on the door as Robert ruffled his own hair one last time before he entered.

A beautiful woman opened the door, her bright eyes dazzling in the twilight as she eyed her two guests. "Hey, guys!" she laughed, giving them a hug over the food they carried, nearly making for a food-spilling disaster.

"Hey, Olga!" the boyfriends said in unison as they struggled to balance their food and return a hug.

"Sorry," she laughed, grabbing what she could from the couple and heading into the kitchen. The two gave each other an awkward smile before she came back into the living room. "I'm so glad you two came."

"I'm so glad you invited us," Greyson politely retorted.

"Why wouldn't I?" she said as Doctor Carson entered from the hallway, having just washed his hands. He pulled a cup from his bag and inspected it. "It's your baby, too!"


	50. Chapter 50: Community

**Chapter 50 "Community"  
><strong>**Day 150; Group A&B**

A chair sat in a totally white room, facing away from the door. A desk sat between the chair and the door, with counters lining the walls of the room, a sterile gray color. There were no windows, and only two doors. One that led out to a hall of the registration building, and one that led to a bathroom.

The bathroom door opened up and a woman with curly blonde hair walked out holding a dull blue hospital gown. "Thank you, Harlan," she said, throwing the gown into a hamper in the corner of the room.

The chair flipped around, revealing the handsome face of Doctor Carson. In his lap was a notebook with his appointments listed. "Of course, Lyssa," he said warmly. "Keep doing those wrist stretches I taught you."

The blonde smiled, nodded, and exited the room. The doctor looked down to his notebook and scratched out the woman's name. Four names were crossed out, and three remained.

He stood up and opened the door wide open. "Olga Kozlov," he called.

The Russian woman stood, smiling happily to the doctor.

Harlan gave her a fresh robe and showed her to the bathroom. She came out a few moments later and sat in the long, white chair designated for patients.

"So, how are you feeling today?" Harlan asked as he rose and grabbed his clipboard.

"I'm fine, I guess. I just wanted you to check up on the baby."

"Again?" the doctor asked, giving her an inquisitive look. "You came in here just three days ago. I don't think much has changed."

"I know," Olga shrugged. "But I just want to make sure."

"Are _they _making you do this?"

Olga lifted a brow, not much appreciating his tone. "No," she said calmly, "the fathers aren't making me do this. They would have the right to ask me to if they wanted, though."

"You know, it's not exactly _they're_ baby, right?"

"It _is_ their baby."

"Well, you didn't sign a contract, did you? Didn't fly this by Jim for legalization?"

"_No,_" Olga spat, quickly getting irritated. Thunder roared outside, alerting them that a storm was brewing.

"Well, then, if you wanted, this could be _your_ baby. I mean, you hardly know them. It's not like they asked you because you're all such good friends."

Olga looked to the side, seeing the doctor's point, but she held her ground. "Doctor, I know what it's like to be out there. Every second, you don't know what's going to happen. People could die at any moment. I'm doing this for them because here, you don't have to worry about that. I've always wanted a child, but you know as well as I do that I couldn't raise the baby as well as I want to. Those two, I've seen them. We're closer than you think. They're ready for a baby. The world moves a lot faster now."

Doctor Carson couldn't help but roll his eyes. "You may think so, but as you just admitted, you're not the most mentally strong of all the residents here. You're overlooking so many things. Firstly, it's two _men._ Not even men, they're both just nineteen! _Nineteen!_ And you barely know them. And lastly, the world we live in isn't fit for babies. Like you said, anything could happen out there. What if this community fell apart? What if a herd came through and overtook us all, and that baby was out there? It would get _everyone_ killed, then die a horrible death on its own. Probably starve to death if it isn't devoured by walkers or murdered by heartless bastards."

"Like I said," Olga retorted, "you don't know them like I do. They're smart; they're strong; they're loving. They understand the world. Robert specifically knows what it takes to survive; how cold you have to be to succeed. He's learned more than any of the other people in his group that I've talked to. The closest ones I can think of who get it are Shawn and Selenis. Granted, I haven't talked to them much, but my point still stands. This baby will make it. I'm done arguing this point. It's my body, and it's my decision. I want to have this baby for them. Now give me my check up and don't say another word to me about this, or I'm getting Jim involved."

The doctor stared at her bewildered, but kept his mouth shut. He sighed, turned back to his desk for his supplies, and prepared to do his job. She couldn't resist smiling contently as Harlan was facing away from her, pleased that she left the man speechless.

* * *

><p>Roger walked in through the large gate of the community as rain poured down heavily, leading his crew back into safety. Boyd and Kevin sat by in cheap plastic chairs on the wall with an umbrella and a thick coat on as Malcolm held his umbrella over Allan, who was working on opening the gates. When the scavenging crew was mostly in, Allan worked the wall back to a close and nodded to Malcolm. The ponytailed man gave an extra umbrella to Kevin as he and Allan went back to their seats. Kevin then rose and began to climb down the ladder.<p>

"Roger, Caleb," Kevin greeted the scavengers' leader and his right-hand man, a heavy man with thick stubble and a beady green eyes. Though they were dry under the wall's platform, Kevin still had to speak loudly over the downpour, "As requested, we're now informing y'all o' new members. Yesterday, shortly after ya left, a group of five joined the community. The leader's name's Mark, and he and one of his members named Karen'll be joining you on your next run."

"Are you kidding me?" Caleb asked with a tinge of genuine anger in his voice.

"No, I am not. Jim's approved them, and they think they're best suited to go scavenging and hunting with you. It's not that big a deal, is it?"

"Kinda," Caleb said rudely, wiping the rain off his face.

"I don't see how, other than them being new. Ken worked out fine, didn't he? Shawn, and Seth, and Robert, and Greyson?"

"Yeah," Roger agreed, looking to Caleb, "they did. And I'm sure these two will, too."

"If not," Caleb warned, "I call dibs on handling it."

"Of course," Roger rolled his eyes. "Consequentially, if they don't work out, it's on your head."

Shawn looked to Seth and they shared a chuckle. Caleb took things like this way too seriously, and it would be hilarious to see him get put in his place.

* * *

><p>Patricia stood in the kitchen, watching the rain hitting against the windows as she washed dishes. Selenis walked down the stairs and noticed the older woman. "Robert's probably so happy right now," she said with a smile.<p>

"Of course he is," Patricia said with a laugh. "Poor Greyson," she joked.

Selenis chuckled. "That poor baby," she attempted to joke, but instead reminded the two of how awful the world is for a child. She bit her lip and looked to the rain as Patricia stared back down at the dishes. After a few slightly uncomfortable minutes, Selenis changed the subject. "So what's with you and Mike?"

The blonde attempted to force her smile down, but clearly failed. The younger woman beside her gave her a nudge, forcing a laugh and "I don't know!" out of the elder.

"Yeah you do! You brought him back here the first day you two met, of course you got somethin' going on, right?"

"He walked me home and kissed me on the cheek; it's not like I slept with him."

"Well, you sure were over at his house for a long time the other day."

"I was helping him with his girls," Patricia said defensively.

Selenis hummed in disbelief. "Sure."

"Well," the elder gave her, "it's not like I haven't tried."

"I knew it!" the Latina laughed in victory.

"Alright, alright," Patricia laughed.

After their laughter died down a bit, she tried to keep the conversation going. "So what do you mean you've _tried_?"

"You know," the blonde shrugged with a smile, "when the kids are at school, I sometimes try and make things a bit...romantic."

"Uh-huh," Selenis laughed suggestively.

"But when things get a bit too intimate, he just kinda...lets go. He stops, coming up with an excuse or some pity story, like he's still grieving his wife. It could be that, but...I can't help think I did something wrong."

"No, no, no," the Latina reassured her. "He probably really is upset about his wife… Or maybe he's got ED," she joked, getting a laugh out of Patricia.

"Thanks," she snorted. "I needed that. Maybe you're right."

* * *

><p>Beth and Malcolm sat in the livingroom of David and Alexandra, the guardians of Mika's friends. It was a beautiful, classical house, painted in bright whites and blues. It was very open, and definitely reminded them of their childhoods. The whole house felt very homely, and was probably the largest one that was not a part of the Governor's Estates section.<p>

"So you two are official now?" Alexandra asked as she brushed her fried blonde hair behind her ear.

"Yup," Malcolm grinned, grabbing Beth's hand and kissing her on the cheek.

"And you both adopted Mika?"

"Well, sorta," Beth shrugged. "I brought it up to Mika, but I didn't want to actually say 'adoption.' I think she got it, though. She calls me 'Momma' now," the blonde smiled and looked to the floor. "We haven't asked her about Malcolm, yet, though."

"I'm sure she'd love to have you as a father," David said as sincerely as he could, though there was clearly a sense of falseness in his tone.

Malcolm picked up on it and smiled. "So, are you two back together now?"

Alexandra bit her lip and looked to her ex, silently scolding him. David opened his mouth to speak, but the middle-aged woman quickly interrupted him. "Not exactly. The romantic aspect of our relationship is virtually dead now," she made a sharp glance to the man beside her, "but we're doing our best to keep it together for the kids. We can't hide it from Tyler and Sophie, but the kids are still mostly oblivious, I hope."

Beth nodded, empathising with the couple. "The last thing those girls need to hear is that their aunt and uncle don't love each other anymore. Especially after losing their mom like that...and the world being the way it is. Sounds like they've had pretty tough lives already. I hope Tyler's able to deal with it, though. For his sisters."

Alexandra and David's tension seemed to vanish as they both looked sad and guilty in contemplation. "He's a strong kid," David stated. "He'll be alright. For his sisters, at least."

"We should go already," Mika whispered from behind the doorway.

Julia and Mia looked to each other sadly and finally listened to Mika's pleads.

"Let's just go back upstairs, okay?" the young blonde asked, attempting to get their mind off of the news they had just overheard. Mia looked up as a tear rolled down her cheek and nodded. She wiped it off and grabbed her younger sister's hand as the three sneaked back upstairs.


	51. Chapter 51: Bonding

**Chapter 51 "Bonding"  
><strong>**Day 151; Group A&B**

An alarm clock buzzed, annoyingly loud, but effective. A slender, wrinkled arm reached out from underneath the thick blanket and hit the snooze button. After a few moments, the sheets rustled and Patricia peeked her head out from the cover, glancing out the window. The rain had barely let up since last night. If it wasn't for the alarm clock, she would think it was still nighttime.

Slowly, she rose from the bed and stretched. The old blonde slid her feet into her slippers and went to the closet, trying to find something to wear for the day. As she looked through her clothes, she realized there was a pair she hadn't even touched since packing them away in the drawers when she first moved in. As she lifted the shirt, a necklace fell out and hit the ground. Her heart sank as she realized which necklace it was.

She covered her mouth as she bent down and picked it up. Just as she had suspected, it was the necklace Otis had given to her for their anniversary the year before. There was a locket on it, with two heart-shaped diamonds on either side of it. Engraved on the back of the locket read, _"our love is _**_eternal_**_."_Slowly, holding her breath, she put it on.

When it was clasped on, she groped the locket. It felt unfamiliar around her neck, and a part of her wanted to take it off. She knew for her mental health, she should try to forget about Otis; to move on, and to keep herself sane. She had Mike now, who had been such a good distraction. Was that all he was, though? She didn't know.

The elder sighed and turned, tucking the locket into her gown as she undressed and put on fresh clothes for the new day.

* * *

><p>It was about an hour before noon, according to Caleb's watch, and the rain was finally beginning to let down, much to his relief. They were going on a run with the new people today, and he didn't want to have to train them while yelling over rain.<p>

He stood below the wall with Roger, Shawn, and Greyson, who were going on the run today. They were waiting for four more people had to show up, and then they would be ready to go.

"It's supposed to be the new ones, Andy, and Tavis today, right?" Greyson asked, slightly impatient.

"No," Roger shook his head. "Andy cancelled, so we asked Liam to step in."

"Why?" Caleb joked to Greyson, "Can't wait to get back to your husband already?"

The three men chuckled, but Greyson blushed in slight aggravation. "Firstly, he's not my husband. Secondly, you can't tell me you wouldn't want to come back to your significant other, _if you had one,_" the boy dug at them, "as soon as possible. Lastly, I just don't want to be trudging out in the mud getting trenchfoot for any longer than I have to."

"Someone's on their period," Caleb laughed, and Greyson wanted to punch him in the face. He looked to Shawn, who gave him a lighthearted smile in understanding, and Greyson understood: 'I get it, but try to just let it go.'

Greyson did not want to be there. They always did this when it was just one of the couple. The only time he actually got to enjoy his job was when Robert was there or he was paired up with one of the girls because no one said anything, and because he got to spend time outside the walls with his boyfriend.

After a few more minutes of waiting, the two new recruits showed up in the now-light drizzle. Mark was much shorter than expected, but his face was weathered and hardened more than it should be for someone as young as he appeared to be. It was clear through his clothes that he was quite built, and it was easy to assume he did most of the heavy lifting in his group. Karen was about the same height, with olive skin and mid-length black hair.

They went down the line, shaking hands with the newcomers. Caleb lifted a brow as his hand grasped Karen's, sensing something strange he'd never felt from just a handshake before.

Mark spoke with a gruff, serious voice, as if he was angry about everything. "Nice to meet you all," he said, though it certainly did not sound like he thought as much.

Karen's voice was just as serious, but much softer. "Are we ready to go?"

"No," Roger responded. "We've got two more coming, then we can head out."

Karen nodded and looked to Mark. Karen contemplated leaning against the wall as the others were doing, but they remained standing, looking face-to-face at the four males.

After an awkward extra thirty minutes of waiting, everyone was ready to set out. They loaded into a muddy, nasty-looking van and set out southward to hunt in the woods.

Before long, they arrived at the edge of the land they hunted in last time. The hunters filed out and armed themselves with hunting knives and silenced rifles, as well as their own personal pistols they carried at all times and other hunting gear, such as fishing poles and nets.

Greyson and Liam set out with the fishing gear, hoping to find a nice watering hole with aquatic life. Roger decided to take Tavis and Mark with him, and Caleb and Shawn took Karen. They parked the van in the woods, camouflaged from the road, and went their separate ways as the rain finally died.

* * *

><p>Runae sat in a large room with blankets, cushions, and toys of all sorts scattered across the ground. Two young boys sat in a corner, playing with plastic dinosaurs.<p>

"Be careful, Alexander," Runae warned the oldest-looking one.

"Yes ma'am," the young boy dutifully responded.

Runae looked down to her lap, reading a book in silence as light children's music played in the background. The book was titled Fleece Navidad, by Maggie Sefton. "There's no way it's Claudia," Runae said to herself.

The creaky door began to open a few feet away from her, and she moved the book to her side as she rose, expecting it to be one of the boys' parents to pick them up. Instead, Alexandra walked in looking stressed and upset, followed by Lizzie, Julia, Mia, and her own son, John.

"Hello," Runae greeted kindly.

"Hi, Runae," Alexandra spat quickly. "I'm sorry to do this to ya, but you gotta watch these kids; I can't take it anymore."

"Of course," Runae said, ushering the four kids inside.

"Thank you so much," the blonde sighed, relief filling her voice.

"Is there anything else I can-" the door closed as Alexandra rushed out of the room, "...do?"

Runae frowned and looked back to her book, then to the kids in the room.

"Alright everyone," she announced, joy filling her voice. Even if it was tough, she loved the kids. She loved taking care of them, and it showed. Her only wish was that the others would show her more appreciation. "It's storytime."

She moved across the room and disregarded her open book, opting for a more child-friendly one.

* * *

><p>"You guys often hunt?" Roger asked Mark, attempting to make smalltalk.<p>

"Mila, Karen, and I usually hunt every other day. The most reliable way to get food anymore," he said in his usual serious tone.

"Don't know about that," Tavis laughed. "Most reliable way's to scavenge in the city."

"Sure," Mark scoffed. "If you want to lose half your group."

"No, no," Tavis and Roger shook their heads. "You just have to know how to do it right."

Mark shook his head as well. "No. It doesn't matter how 'right' you are; things happen, and an ideal situation can become a worst-case scenario much easier than you think."

Roger looked to Tavis nervously, then back to Mark, and they locked eyes. Mark didn't look away, his gaze serious and intense. "I'm sorry, man," Roger begged. "I didn't know."

Mark didn't reply and simply turned his focus back on his surroundings. His eyes were keen for prey, like a starving cougar. A rustle came from their right and Mark instantly turned and shot it. Before their eyes lay a large, fat, dead rabbit.

Roger and Tavis stared at the man in astonishment. "Great job, dude," Roger said holding out his hand for a high-five, but getting nothing in return. The leader awkwardly put his hand back at its side and they moved to collect the rabbit.

* * *

><p>Betty sat in an open room. The curtains were wide open and the whole room seemed to give off a good vibe and positive energy. The was a single chair, which Betty sat in, behind a desk, as well as bookshelves lining the walls and a long, Grecian half-couch, which was currently occupied by a frail black woman who has just sat down. She was quiet and reserved, and Betty was trying her hardest to get something out of her.<p>

Gale had her arms crossed in front of her, clearly uncomfortable. She seemed frightened and worried.

"How are you doing today, Gale?" Betty asked kindly.

The frail woman stared forward, looking to one of the bookcases. They sat in silence for nearly three minutes, and the elder woman kept a straight face, this not being her first time with a silent patient.

"That's perfectly fine," Betty said warmly. "You don't have to talk at all, we can go at your own pace. There's no rush."

* * *

><p>Uncharacteristically silent, Caleb led the way to the traps they had set for rabbits and other small game. Karen occasionally took the opportunity to study the backside of the robust man. As she looked at him, she realized how well-off the community must be. She laughed under her breath, louder than intended, as she thought about how undeveloped a survivor most of them must be.<p>

He looked back at the new girl, having heard her laugh. "You makin' fun of me?" he joked.

"What if I am?"

He looked her up and down and smiled. "Then I'll have to kill you."

Shawn rolled his eyes at the banter and kept his nose out of the odd flirting.

"You better put up a damn good fight, then."

"You think I can't?"

"Probably not," she laughed and made Shawn smile.

"I could-" Caleb began, but was interrupted by a walker stumbling out from a tree in front of him. "Fuck!" he yelled instinctively, pushing it down onto the ground sideways. He quickly grabbed his knife and rammed it into the walker's brain.

He looked up just as Karen and Shawn lowered their guns, which were trained on the walker's head. "You could fuck?" she joked once more after a short pause of silence, causing Shawn to finally laugh.

Caleb smiled and wiped sweat off of his brow. "I sure could."

* * *

><p>Greyson and Liam trudged through the woods, silent as they scanned the area for a source of water. All they could find was puddles and mud, so they did their best to keep their eyes out for animals as they continued their journey for a pond.<p>

"You alright?" Liam asked after a long while.

Greyson, taken aback by the sudden question, stuttered. "M-Me? Uh, yeah. I'm fine. What about you?"

Liam smiled, doing his best to keep a conversation going. "I'm doing pretty good. Wish we didn't have to be out here after that storm, though."

The younger boy smiled at his companion, a muscular brunet white man with an oval-shaped face. Greyson hadn't seen Liam around much since he had moved in, but they were always cordial to each other. "That's exactly how I feel."

"Wish you could be back at home with your friends and keep warm?"

"Pretty much," Greyson grinned. "Wish I could be home listen to my boyfriend go on and on about how much he loves the rain, and how happy he is to be surrounded by loved ones in such beautiful weather."

"At least he's happy," Liam chuckled.

Greyson met the older man's eyes, and was delighted to see that he held no malice, no hidden meaning with his acceptance of his relationship. So many of the people in the community seemed to be put off by it. He blamed the fact they were in the south.

"You have someone special?" Greyson asked.

"Nah," Liam replied. "Haven't in a few years, actually."

"Do you want someone?"

"Doesn't everyone?" the older man laughed.

"Not really."

"Right," Liam corrected. "Well, you know what I mean, don't you?"

"Of course." Greyson met his eyes once more and adjusted the strap around his shoulder, which was beginning to hurt. "It's hard, not having someone. I wish you luck."

"Thanks, man," Liam replied.

"Thank _you_ for being friendly."

The older man looked to Greyson, who now had his attention focused on a faint splash sound that Liam hadn't noticed. "It's all good. Don't listen to those other guys, they just talk a lot of shit. Like to mess with the younger or newer ones."

"Except when Robert's around," Greyson pointed out, causing Liam to frown.

"It's alright, though. You've got a nice, loving boyfriend to go home to. They're just jealous. That's what _I _think."

"You think so?" Greyson turned around, a knowing grin on his face. "Well, they're about to be real jealous."

Liam lifted a brow in confusion as the younger man turned back to the woods before them. Greyson led them through a thick brush, and they came out on the other end to a huge pond, rippling and thriving with life.

* * *

><p>Seth stood in the cafeteria of the registration building, eating lunch alone as everyone else seemed to be busy. Lyrik handed him a plate and gave him a suggestive smile, to which Seth playfully rolled his eyes. He turned to find a place to sit. There were four long tables in the room, each with about ten seats on either side.<p>

Mike and his daughters sat together at a table, noisily slurping down their soup like sloppy pigs at a trough. A large, dark-skinned man sat at a table with Boyd, and their conversation seemed to be quite serious, as they were both whispering closely in the center of the table. At another table, many children and teenagers sat, loudly discussing trivial things only the youth seemed to be concerned with.

The large, long-haired man sighed and sat down at the empty table in the far corner. He looked down at his food and recognized that the raviolis and green beans were canned. He didn't know why he expected them to be better, or more organic.

After a few bites, Seth became lost in his thoughts and was startled when the seat across from him was taken up by a familiar face.

"Howdy," Kevin said in his trademark southern accent.

"Hi," Seth smiled.

"Hope ya' don't mind me sittin' here. I don't wanna intrude on Boyd and Kyle's conversation. And if I sat at one of the other two tables, I'd feel like I'm in an animal farm."

"It's totally cool," Seth laughed. "I felt the same way."

Kevin ate a forkful of his raviolis and the sauce got in his mustache.

"That happen often?"

"What?" Kevin asked indignantly, his mouth full.

Seth gestured to his own upper lip. "Flavor-saver."

"Oh!" Kevin grabbed a napkin and wiped off his facial hair. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Seth chuckled. "I just thought it was funny."

"Ya' think that's funny?" Kevin gave the larger man a questioning look. "I forget to wipe that thing down after every bite, I end up chewin' on it in my sleep." Seth bursted into laughter at the absurdity of the man. "It's true!" Kevin claimed, beginning to laugh, as well.

As his laughter subsided, Seth pointed a finger at the cowboy. "You're a strange, funny old cowboy."

"Why, thank ya'," Kevin grinned and shoveled another ravioli into his mouth, following it up with another wipe of his impressive mustache. "Well, what kinda man are you?"

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, still smiling from the joke.

"Ya' said I'm funny. What're you? Other than strong, of course."

"That's pretty much it," Seth chuckled. "There's not much time to be funny anymore. Comedy's kinda foreign to me now."

"You were out there just three months. It wasn't _that_ bad, was it?"

Seth shrugged. "I lost my whole family in the first week. Dad, girlfriend...daughter."

Kevin's eyes went wide, not realizing how hard Seth could have been hit. "I'm sorry," he said. "I didn't know. Ya' seemed too young to have kids to me." Seth smiled slightly, accepting the compliment. "If it makes ya' feel better, I lost all my family, too. 'Cept I didn't have any kids."

"It's a harsh world."

Seth carried on eating the food, and eventually came up with a remedy to the resulting silence, which had been prominent for about five minutes.

"I never got to ask you," Seth began, "I've just heard rumors. What's up with you jumping from job to job?"

Kevin grinned. "I'm kinda Jim's right-hand man. And some would say I'm a jack of all trades, y'know? I ken do just about anything."

"Like fly a plane?" Seth joked.

"It's funny ya' say that. Before all this, I was an airplane repo-man."

"You're kidding," the strong man bewilderedly said.

"I swear on my life. In fact," Kevin leaned in and whispered, "I found an airplane the other day when I was with the scavengers a few towns south. I think I'm gonna talk to Jim, ask him if he'll let me go out and fix 'er up. Maybe start finding gas fer her."

Seth stared at the man in shock and disbelief. He considered the possibilities; what this could do for him and everyone else in the group. Everyone in the world. "What slap do you plan to do with it?"

Kevin shrugged. "Last I heard, Russia had it mostly under control. A lotta Europe was doin' well. I think France was really well-off."

"You think we should use it to go to Europe?" Seth said out loud, earning an annoyed expression from Kevin.

"Shhh!" Kevin whispered. "We gotta keep this a secret for now."

"Why?"

"In case things go wrong," Kevin said ominously. "That plane could be the difference between life and death fer some of us."

Seth's head was reeling, and he didn't know what to make of what he had just heard. Could it be possible? Might they be able to leave the country; the continent? They might even be able to find a place completely untouched by any of this. _That plane will save lives,_ Seth determined.


	52. Chapter 52: I Survived

**Chapter 52 "I Survived"  
><strong>**Day 223**

Sierra sat on top of a school bus, a fitted black trenchcoat protecting her from the remaining cold of the winter night. The bus was painted shades of white, green, and brown as camouflage. The windows appeared to be blacked out, or perhaps black curtains were drawn. Dried blood stained the grill and wheels, a dark red tinting random parts of the bottom-sides of the large vehicle.

The blonde on the bus looked down at her fingernails, dirt and blood intermingling grossly between them. Her stomach growled. She thought of her most recent encounter with strangers. It had to have been a week or two ago. She gazed into the woods, recalling all that she had lost, her dear friends and family members. She sighed, tired of the world she was enslaved in, but she remained alert in the morning light.

A rustling could be heard approaching from her right. Quickly, she put her silenced rifle up and pointed it in the direction of the rustling. Expecting a walker, she focused her aim on the head of the figure. Instead, however, it was a man, and she tried to stop herself as she realized it, but she instinctively shot. "Dalton!" shouted a voice from the same direction as the collapsed figure, and Sierra cursed under her breath, her face painting the anger she had at herself for pulling the trigger.

* * *

><p>Taylor stood in the hallway of the large administration building, chewing contemplatively on a stale peanut-butter cracker. He looked on at the people in the building, going to or coming from their jobs, or making use of those on duty. They walked around carelessly, as if their lives really mattered.<p>

_They don't,_ Taylor thought. _These people think that they're so safe, so well-off. But they're not. New people could show up today and sneak their way up the ladder of importance. Once they're there, we're all screwed, because they could do whatever they wanted to us. Everyone's just seems so oblivious,_he believed.

He turned around, fed up with the dull, simple life before him. As he turned, he bumped into a pretty blonde, and he crumbled. "Sorry," he attempted to say, but it came out more like a whisper.

"It's okay," Lyssa laughed, brushing the bulky man's arm and sashaying off to the cafeteria.

_Maybe they're not that bad,_ Taylor rethought, watching her bottom as she walked.

* * *

><p>A young man sat on a bench deep within the neighborhoods of the community, playing with a small toy truck in his hands. He seemed impatient, or as if he did not want to be there.<p>

"Tyler," Alexandra called to the boy from the kitchen window. The smell of stew seeped out from the window, and a loud simmering could be heard from behind her.

"Yes?"

"Where're John and Sophie?"

"They went to go get Stetson and Evan."

"Oh, alright," the aging blonde conceded. "How long ago did they go?"

"It's been a while," Tyler sighed and stretched. "They should be back soon."

"Good," Alexandra said happily. "You know how I worry."

"Yup," the teen called, then looked back down to the toy. "Except you didn't notice _my_ sisters aren't here, either," he said under his breath. "All you care about is _your_ kids."

"Did you say something?" the woman called.

"No, ma'am."

Tyler stayed seated, staring at the toy listlessly. Soon enough, Sophie came walking down the street holding her boyfriend Evan's hand. She was followed by John, who was making jokes and laughing with a boy nearly as tall as Evan, but was clearly much younger than the teen.

"You alright?" Sophie asked the boy, who was her cousin and adopted brother.

"Just peaches," Tyler said, easily pulling off a fake smile as he ruffled John's hair and gave him back his toy. "You nearly forgot that, little man. You gotta be more careful."

"I will," the innocent-looking little boy grinned. "Thank you, big brother," John said, pulling Tyler down to hug him.

"Of course," Tyler returned the hug, and his heart wrenched in confliction.

* * *

><p>Robert exited the administration building, a basket full of food in his hands, giving him difficulty in walking. Others exited the building after him, taking their rations back to their homes, as well. He breathed in the frigid winter air as he stepped onto the road.<p>

It was cold, snow on the ground from the night before. The sky was a large gray mass of icy promises. Despite wearing three layers, Robert still shivered, and he smiled as he thought about the fact his house was on the opposite side of the community.

As he made it onto the main road, he was distracted by the gates opening wide. In rushed Dalton, a large white bandage on his neck, blood staining his neck and clothes, going all the way down to his pants. He was held up by Roger and Dylan, who led the group. Following behind them was a sight Robert thought was impossible.

A familiar blonde woman followed quickly behind, looking determined and concerned. Greyson and Seth ran closely behind her, looking desperately for other people around the place to help. Greyson immediately saw Robert, and smiled widely. He pointed his boyfriend out to Sierra, and she smiled, but remained with the group, focused on helping Dylan.

Robert dropped the basket of food, his heart breaking into a race as he saw the sight before him. His face twisted in a mix of relief, confusion, and joy. Behind all of them, Caleb led in a large group of people, that looked to be made up of about fifteen survivors. It was hard to distinguish who all was there, but Robert immediately recognized Gabriel, Xavier, and Kelly.

The rations spilled on the ground, the teen further disregarded them and made for a sprint to the group. Greyson ran ahead and met him and they embraced, Robert crying into his boyfriend's shoulder, who was now crying once again.

"We're all back together again," Greyson told Robert, pushing even more joy into his lover's mind, who had missed many of the separated deeply.

Greyson grabbed Robert's hand and they walked to Sierra, and she immediately gave Robert a huge hug.

"I've missed you so much," the brunet sighed through tears. "All of you."

"You have no idea," Sierra returned. She gave a final smile before breaking off the hug. "We'll talk later."

Robert nodded, slightly confused, and he waved her off. He looked to the group being escorted in and then back to Greyson. "Can we talk to them?"

"Not yet," Greyson said. "You know how it is. They've got to get them all registered first."

Robert shook his head and looked back to the new group. He made out a few cute-looking guys, including a buff, tall blond, and a thin boy with green hair and blond roots. He made eye-contact with Gabriel and Xavier, and gave them both huge smiles and a nod, letting them know it was safe here.

* * *

><p>Shawn, Beth, Mika, Lyrik, Patricia, Selenis, and Malcolm ran to the administration building, led by Robert, Greyson, and Seth. They had all been pulled from their homes or jobs and were all excited and overjoyed, knowing that their old friends had arrived. They were excited to see their old loved ones, and were desperate to know who made it.<p>

"Did Otis make it?" Patricia yelled as she struggled to keep up.

"Like I said," Robert repeated, "I didn't get a good look."

"So you don't know about Ryan, either?" Beth chimed in.

"Or Oscar? Or Shakira?" Selenis questioned.

"No!" Robert yelled back to them all. "Like I said, I only saw Sierra, Kelly, Xavier, and Gabriel."

"What about you two?" Shawn asked. "You were both there."

Seth and Greyson shot each other knowing looks and bit their tongues. Their silence spoke a thousand words as they all began to feel worried.

When they finally arrived, they stepped into the building to see Jim walking into his office with Xavier, just as Sierra walked out. Roger, who stood by, gave Seth a nod, and he turned to them all. "Looks like the registration's been completed. We can talk to them now."

Roger spoke up with a laugh, "Thank God. Got a lot of catching up to do," he smiled to Kelly, who gave him a half-hearted smile and gripped onto Amanda B.'s hand. "A total of sixteen people, huh?"

Everyone in the two crowds began intermingling, having happy heartfelt reunions. Selenis and Gabriel shared a long hug; as did Amanda and Seth and Shawn; and Xavier, Sierra, and Kelly with Lyrik and Greyson.

Patricia immediately began scanning the crowd. She spotted a large man in flannel and went right to him, praying it was Otis, despite being almost certain it wouldn't be. The elderly blonde tapped the large man's shoulder, and he turned to face her, revealing a large, white beard, and she instantly deflated.

"You alright, ma'am?" he asked kindly.

Beth took notice of Patricia's plight and stood by her side. She wrapped an arm around her and gave Axel an apologetic, "I'm sorry." She looked to Patricia, who seemed utterly devastated. "Did you know Otis?" Beth decided to ask the man.

"I did," Axel stated, and his eyes went wide as he realized who the woman must be. "Are you...Patricia?"

The elder looked up to him as a tear escaped her eyes, which were now lit up. "Yes," she said mousily.

"I'm so sorry," he offered her. She nodded, burying her face into Beth. "He was a great guy," Axel said, motioning to put a hand on her shoulder, but deciding against it. "I didn't know him for too long, but I learned something from him in the short time I did. He was a strong, passionate guy. Had such a big heart. This one time, we were out camping in the woods after our ride ran out of steam, you follow me? It was so cold, and the girls were shivering, and we only had a few blankets. He gave this woman who had just lost her daughter his blanket, and he gave his gloves, boots, and warm flannel hat to the other girls. He always was lookin' out for everyone but himself," Axel said, then looked down and was silent for a while. "He really loved you. Through it all, he kept thinking about you. Wanting to find you. You're-...were...lucky."

"Lucky?" Patricia nearly screamed. "If I were lucky, he would be here. But I'm not. And he's not. That can't be fixed; I'm not gonna be easily consoled by some stranger who didn't even _know _him." She was crying ravenously, snot oozing out of her nose as she screamed furiously. She stared into the large man's eyes and turned, leaving the building before he could speak again.

"I'm so sorry," Beth told him. "Thank you for trying. She's just upset right now."

"It's fine," Axel nodded politely. "Tell her I'm sorry if I said somethin' wrong."

"Of course," the young blonde nodded before giving chase to her distraught mother figure.

After this odd, yet sad, scene, Shawn approached Sierra. "Can we talk?" he smiled, gesturing for them to step aside from the crowd.

"Of course," she nodded.

They stepped outside and looked out onto the mini town.

"How have you been?" the farmboy began, offering the blonde a cigarette.

The blonde's eyes widened as she snatched the white stick from the younger's hands. "Oh my god, you have no idea how bad I need this."

"I'm sure I do," he smiled, lighting his own cigarette and taking a drag.

"You smoke?" she asked curiously.

"I do now," he chuckled. "Helps me keep a level head." Sierra nodded, recalling the man's temper. "You didn't answer my question. How've you been?"

"Right," the blonde breathed. "Well, it certainly hasn't been a ball. At least I'm still alive, though. Today's probably the best day of my life."

"You don't even know," Shawn smiled to his old friend. "It's good to have you back."

"I would say 'it's good to be back,' but I don't even know where we are."

"You've been out there for how long and you still don't pay super-close attention to everything?" Shawn joked.

"Names aren't what I was paying attention to. I was too busy reading these...your people." Shawn chuckled and nodded, taking another puff. "How long have you been here?"

"We got here just around two weeks after the herd ran through."

"Really?" Sierra said in surprise. "You guys got damn lucky, then."

"I guess so."

"Who did you all lose?"

Shawn shrugged. "Well, first we were split into two groups. There was me, Seth, Selenis, Daniel, Greyson, and Robert. After about a week, Daniel went crazy over some drama between him, Greyson, and Robert, and fed himself to a walker."

"Damn," Sierra cursed.

"That's how I felt. It was so unexpected. I kinda thought Robert killed him on purpose for a while."

"Really?" Sierra raised her brow. "I always felt like there was something off about the guy."

"I dunno," Shawn sighed. "After that, we only lost this girl Sarita. Beth and them met her and these two guys, Malcolm and Taylor, not long after the herd. She's dating Malcolm now."

"Wow," the blonde said. "You approve?"

"I mean," Shawn puffed, "I guess. He seems like a nice dude. My only concern is that he's like eight years older than her."

"I don't know if that really matters anymore."

"So I've been told."

"Well," Sierra breathed out, "you guys really did get lucky. We lost _so_ many."

"Really?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "First, we lost Patti when the herd swept through."

"Oh yeah," the brunet scratched his neck.

"We went back and saw she had been put down."

"Daniel did that," Shawn nodded.

"Then, Oscar got bit, didn't tell us, died, and killed Ryan."

"I knew it," Shawn frowned.

"Knew what?"

"I knew that Ryan was dead. Mika and Beth got really close, and she adopted the girl. Beth asked if I thought Ryan was dead, and something just told me he was."

"He was pretty dumb. Not sure why anyone would think he'd last that long. But I'm lad to hear Mika's doing well, and has a parental figure, too."

A loud laugh came from inside the building, and they turned to see Caleb and Roger making a joke, with Kelly looking embarrassed behind them.

"Glad to see they're all getting along," Shawn laughed.

"That's the first time I've seen some of them smile in weeks," Sierra said, a weak smile cracking on her own visage.

They kept staring through the window, admiring the happy scene. Shawn took another puff of his cigarette and urged the blonde to continue. "You were saying? Ryan died."

"Right. Well, I put down Oscar and Ryan, and took over the group. Kelly and Xavier became official, and we carried on. Made it to Salem, where your group was supposed to be at, but found Steve instead. He's that big blonde one there," she pointed through the window.

"He must have been a big help, right?"

"Not at first," Sierra chuckled. "We were all skeptical of him in the beginning and treated him like a prisoner. Kept him tied up and never left him alone. In retrospect, it was pretty harsh, but I don't regret it. Just 'cause he's not a bad guy doesn't mean he might not have been."

Shawn nodded, impressed with the knowledge exhibited by the blonde and her group. "No wonder y'all made it so long. I don't think we would'a done that."

"It was just a precaution," the woman shrugged. "Just a few days after we met him, though, we came across the majority of the strangers you see in there. The tables turned on us, and _we_ became the prisoners."

"Talk about karma."

"You're telling _me_. Only thing is, Steve was a prisoner with us."

"He was like, a double-prisoner."

"In a way," Sierra laughed and pointed again. "That guy there's Merle Dixon. He was the leader, and he was basically a dictator. Bullied and taunted most of his people, fed them lies and stuff to get them to comply."

"You're kidding," Shawn groaned. "Why's he still here?"

"Because when he saw no one was listening to him anymore, after his place was destroyed, he fell in line. He's still pretty mouthy, but he's a good member of the group now. He's still got his problems, and can be a dick, but he's really stepped up."

"As long as he's not as bad as he used to be, right?"

"Right." Sierra locked eyes with Merle, and they shared a strange look. It was one of both hatred and respect. "He had more people. Four others. Robert, Sam, Mandy, and her daughter Poppie."

Shawn nodded, slightly saddened to hear another child had been lost to this world.

"That mom and her girl...that was tragic."

"When isn't it, when it involves loved ones?"

"That girl died. She got burned and bit. When Amanda K. — that one there — put her down, Mandy fell into a hard depression. Wasn't three days before she went out into the woods and just hung herself."

Shawn looked down to the ground, reminded of Maggie. He bit his lip and looked into the distance, watching Julia and Michelle running towards them.

"It's good to see there's still hope," Sierra stated, watching the two young strangers run into the administration building and straight into Jim's office.

"So what happened to Otis?" the farmboy asked hesitantly.

"God," Sierra frowned. "That freakin' guy. He sacrificed himself for us. Some of them in there will say it was an accident, but his death saved us all. I'd like to believe he knew that… We were hiding out in this school. We'd been there about a week, and were pretty set up. We knew there were walkers in other parts of the building, tons of em, but we just didn't have the strength to get them all. One day, one of our barricades fell. Otis was the first one to get up and start holding them all back. He yelled to us, woke us up, and gave us enough time to get most of our stuff and get out. Axel, Steve, and Gabriel were also trying to keep that barricade in place, but he yelled at them to help — that he had it. Of course they were hesitant, but they eventually let go like he'd asked. When it was just me, Amanda K., and Xavier, we yelled to him to let go and to come join us. He didn't say a word. He just looked like he was in complete pain and shock. The barricade broke, and all of the walkers he'd held back began devouring him — we had to leave him. I could still hear his screaming when we made it out to the vehicle."

Shawn was staring up into the sky, attempting to keep himself collected and prevent any possible tears. "I loved him so much," the farmboy stated.

"So did we. He was a hero." After a long pause, Sierra continued with her recounting of the events that she had been through. "Shakira died in the wildfire that burned Poppie and destroyed Merle's train station. Sam died to starvation just a month ago. Times were really rough. It was depressing to see the guy go. Robert was killed by bandits who stole some guns from us a few weeks ago. Otis and Sam died about two months apart, and in between those months, we met those three," she pointed to a blond teen missing his left leg, a man with green hair and blond roots, and a woman with short, frizzy light brown hair. "Dillon there," she named the legless teen, "lost his girlfriend when he lost his leg. Her name was Emily. Sweet girl. She was funny and light-humored, despite the world around us. Once again, we made a mistake by underestimating walkers. We tried to cover ourselves in walker guts to make it through a herd. We got pretty far, but Emily tripped on a corpse and screamed. Walkers got her in an instant. Panicking and trying to save her, Dillon did everything he could, but ended up getting bit. We pulled him out of there and cut his leg off."

"Jesus Christ," Shawn said, staring at the boy. "How old is he?"

"Nineteen."

"That kid's been through more than anyone ever should."

"You're not wrong. He's barely spoken a sentence since it happened."

"Can you blame him?"

"I don't suppose I can. I'm just impressed he hasn't ended it. Seen it happen way too often now. But he gets it. He survived. I survived. _We_ survived."

* * *

><p><em>Wow! Finally, everyone's reunited! Took long enough, haha. <em>_Too bad that we lost some people, though. They were all so kind. __I hope you like this chapter; it was probably my favorite one to write in a long time._

_Sadly, however, this is probably going to be the last chapter for a while because it's finally summer for me! The biggest reason for this hiatus is because school has really interfered with my writing over the past month, and I'm quite behind. Plus, the non-stop testing had fried my brain. But, when I do return chapters 53, 54, and 55 will be posted; the last of which is a BIG chapter that I'm excited about. Spoiler alert: it's titled "Prison."_


	53. Chapter 53: Adjusting

**Chapter 53 "Adjusting"  
>Day 225<strong>

Sierra woke up and immediately turned her eyes to the alarm clock beside her, silent and glowing a bright green across the room. "A whole three hours this time," she smiled and rose from the bed, still fully clothed. She drew the curtains just in time to see the sun come over the horizon. She walked out of her room and silently opened each of her housemates' doors.

She opened one door, and Dillon immediately turned, sitting in his bed with his knife raised. He saw that it was Sierra, and smiled at her. She returned the smile and shut the door.

The blonde turned across the hall and opened another door. There, she saw the stark naked body of the frizzy-haired brunette. "You okay, Soren?" Sierra asked confusedly.

"Yeah," she replied without turning back.

"I think we're across the street from a family."

"It's just boobs," Soren stated carelessly.

"Well, if we get complaints, that's on you."

"I know."

The leader smiled at her friend's abrasive attitude and went to the final door. Inside, the room was completely dark, the curtains drawn to create a pitch black tomb.

"James?" Sierra called.

The sleepy man moved slightly, his green head sticking pointedly out of the top of the blanket. He replied with an unintelligible groaning mumble.

"Sorry," she said lightly, and shut the door back.

Soren and Dillon walked past her, Soren now wearing a silk orange robe, and went down the stairs to begin on dinner. Sierra smiled, happy with her housemates and the normalcy she was beginning to feel here.

* * *

><p>Xavier and Kelly sat in the livingroom of their new house. It was odd, having a home of their own and not piling in all together, crowing the house uncomfortably.<p>

"How are you feeling?" Xavier asked as they spooned cereal into their mouths.

"Good," Kelly shrugged, "I guess."

"You guess? I thought you'd be filled with joy to be back here."

"I am," the girl whose purple was nearly gone smiled. "It's great to be back, and to see that so many people I left are still here. That I still have a home. But it's kind of bittersweet. Not _all_ of the people I left behind are still here. Tyler and his sisters' mom Elizabeth died. Jim's wife Jenny died. Betty's husband Michael died, and now she's with Henry. Bella's with Tavis. And Roger... Things have changed."

"Of course they have," Xavier comforted, oblivious to her relationship with Roger. "You couldn't have expected everything to remain constant. It never does."

"I know," Kelly sighed. "Doesn't mean I can't be sad that they have, though. I'm really going to miss what once was."

"But you're happy now, right?"

She paused and took a moment, chewing contemplatively on her cereal. "I am," she said finally. "I'm happy." The two lovers shared a long, heartfelt stare. "I really love you."

"I love you too, Kelly."

* * *

><p>Beth walked quickly in the streets, beginning to panic. She realized she had not seen Patricia since the day before, when she had ran off, and was worried something might have happened to the elder blonde.<p>

She made it into the yard of her neighbors and pounded her fist on the door. Lyrik opened it, clearly confused.

"Beth?" she furrowed her brows. "Are you okay?"

"Have you seen Patricia?" the blonde spat quickly.

"No…" Lyrik stated. "Is she okay?"

"I don't know," Beth said frustratedly. "I haven't seen her in nearly twenty-four hours!"

"Didn't you follow her?"

"I tried! I don't know where she went; I lost her. I think she ran through someone's backyard. I haven't seen her since."

"Oh," the dark-skinned teen sighed, "well, I haven't, either. I don't know where she is, I'm sorry."

"Are Robert and Greyson in?"

"No, I think they went to Olga's."

"When you see them again, ask about Patricia. I've gotta go, I'll see you later."

"Alright," Lyrik said uselessly as Beth speed-walked to the next house.

She repeated her process, pounding on the next door, which was where Patricia lived. In retrospect, she realized she should have come here first, but it didn't matter. If she was here, she could just go back to Lyrik and explain that she overreacted.

Seth opened the door with groggy eyes, clearly just waking up.

"Is Patricia here?" Beth asked.

"I don't think so," Seth stated.

"Have you seen her? Is Selenis here?" she interrogated the sleepy brute.

"No, and...no?"

"Well, let me know if you hear anything, then," Beth stormed off.

"Wait!" Seth called, and stepped out of the door, closing it behind him. "Let me help."

"Then you better keep up," she yelled back to him.

The large man struggled to keep up in his sleepy state, but soon managed to match the pace of the teen and they went from house to house looking for the old woman, picking up Selenis along the way, who they had found visiting with Gabriel, Allan, and Boyd.

Eventually, they made it down the road to Mike's house. Beth was certain if she was not there, she was gone. The blonde knocked, and got no response. She looked back at her friends, and Selenis gave an encouraging nod. Beth understood, and turned the doorknob.

They all went inside and searched quietly together. Eventually, they made it to the end of the hallway and opened the door, revealing Patricia and Mike sleeping nude underneath a blanket together. In sync, their eyes all went wide.

Immediately, Seth and Selenis began cracking up at the sight, a much less elegant composition than Patricia usually presented to the world. When Beth said "Ew," under her breath, Seth couldn't help it and burst out laughing.

Patricia instantly woke up, a light sleeper, and saw the trio in the doorway. She grabbed a pillow and hid her face, curling her body up under the blanket. Mike groggily woke up and mirrored her humility, covering himself with the blanket.

Beth, Seth, and Selenis left the building, laughing hysterically and uttering apologies profusely. For Beth, it was a horrifying, nearly traumatizing experience. For Selenis and Seth, it was the funniest thing that had happened to them in many months.

* * *

><p>Kevin exited his house in the Governor's Estates, humming a tune as he walked. From a distance, he saw Allan talking with a few men in his yard and he waved to his younger friend. The day was a cloudy one; not particularly cold, but not warm enough to do a good job at melting much of the remaining snow.<p>

The cowboy smiled to himself, thinking about the good things that have been happening, and how well life seemed these days. Defenses were high, and there were very few threats to their way of life at West Little Rock.

Today, his job was to check on residents of the community and gather information about how they are feeling about the community, or how well they are adjusting. Even if he only gets to do this job twice a month at most, it's still his favorite one of all the tasks he's assigned.

His first priority was to make sure the newest people felt at ease with their new arrangements, and he made a beeline to the house Merle was supposed to be living in. As he made his way, he noticed a few interactions among the citizens. Robert walked with Olga, whose belly was getting larger now, and helped her carry groceries. Tavis walked Angel in his stroller to visit with another toddler and his mother. Taylor walked away from Lyssa, both looking depressed. Terrance and Tina stood, talking with Malcolm and Beth, who looked very embarrassed as hey boyfriend seemed to tell a funny story.

Not long after knocking on the door to Merle's house a man wearing a worn, dirty fishing hat opened the door tentatively.

"Dan, right?"

"Dale," the old man corrected.

"Dale, right; sorry," Kevin laughed. "Don't worry. I'll learn yer name soon enough."

"Sure," Dale said, an eyebrow raised. "Do you need something?"

"Just wanted to check on y'all, make sure yer all doin' well."

"Protocol?"

"Nope," the cowboy lied. "Just bein' friendly."

When Kevin's kindness was met with hesitation and a clear mixture of fear and distrust, the mustached man gave another of his warm smiles.

"Is Merle here?"

Dale gave the virtual stranger an odd look and nodded, opening the door wider to reveal Merle, who had been listening in the whole time.

"How you doing, stringbean?" Merle asked condescendingly.

"Pretty good," Kevin grinned charmingly. "You all good?"

"Yeah," the gruff man nodded secretively.

"Anything I can get y'all? More blankets, some clothes, more cleaning stuff?"

"I think we're all good," Merle nodded.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if ya' need somethin', ya' know where the administration building is. Someone there can help ya' out." Kevin turned as he realized they wanted him gone and waved a final goodbye.

"Of course," Merle said with fake kindness as he began to close the door. He turned to Dale and scoffed. "I don't like him. Reminds me too much of Officer Friendly."

Dale half-frowned and walked away, annoyed. "He was more of a man than you could ever be."

Merle rolled his eyes, used to Dale's bitterness.

* * *

><p>In the counselling room sat Betty, with her long gray hair in a bun. She sat, annoyed and frustrated, though she remained calm, and did not let her anger tint her voice whatsoever. She had much practice with holding back her frustration and refused to crack against such a rude young woman. Gale was lying in her normal spot, a cold statue, uncompromising her disdain and general disinterest in the world.<p>

"Have you been eating?" Betty questioned her patient. In response, the elder was given nearly five whole minutes of silence. "It's okay to not be ready, Gale," Betty said soothingly. "But you have to open up eventually. We will go at your pace, but I must emphasise the importance of you opening up."

"Why should I?" Gale asked, her voice high yet strong. "You're on the leader's council, ain't you? You probably gonna tell everybody else what I say. Get me kicked out of here 'cause you think I'm crazy."

"That's not true," Betty said, stunned. Gale had never been so frank; she had never spoken so much in the whole time they had sessions together. "This is a private, safe space. I'm only here to assist in recovery, or to simply listen. Nothing discussed here will be said to anyone else."

"How do I know that? I'm not payin' for this, I didn't ask for this. There ain't no laws anymore sayin' you have to keep my word secret, either. If there was, it'd be Jim you'd have to answer to, and he's the one you're probably tellin' all our secrets to."

Betty was becoming genuinely offended, and she held a hand over her chest. "Do you really believe that I would do that? That I _am_ doing that?" Gale remained silent, staring up at the ceiling. "Just because I have some sort of power in this town, and because I talk to people personally, does not mean that I would hurt people like that. I'm a therapist; I have been doing this since before the world ended. This is my passion. Not some ploy to get information; to betray those who put trust and hope into me."

Gale sighed, her face still expressionless. She turned her head to the clock on the wall. "It's half-past four," the frail woman said as she rose. "I'm off the clock. I had a wonderful time again, Mrs. Keating." Gale walked out noiselessly, leaving Betty in shock.

* * *

><p>Kevin entered Jim's office, finally allowed in by his secretary. "Thanks, Tracey," he winked to her. The middle-aged woman nodded offhandedly.<p>

"Hello, Kevin," Jim said politely. "Everything go well?"

"Howdy," the cowboy responded. "Well, as good as can be expected. Dalton's recovering nicely, and he and Dylan are fitting in great. Everybody loves 'em. Shawn's old people seem pretty good. Xavier, Sierra, and Kelly are great. Steve, Alicia, and the Amandas are all okay, too. I don't know about the rest of that bunch, though. Everyone likes Axel and Dillon, but something seems off about Axel to me. He seems almost _too_ nice for someone who's apparently been through as much as he has."

"Maybe that's his coping mechanism," Jim suggested as he shuffled through documents before him. Not once had he looked up to Kevin since he had walked in, opting instead to focus on his work.

"You may be right," Kevin shrugged.

"Doesn't mean you stop watching him, though."

"O' course, sir."

"You've done good," Jim stated, pushing his papers to the side and finally meeting Kevin's eyes. "Remember, this is for the good of us all. You get lazy, or you don't pay enough attention, things will go wrong. People will die. And do you know whose head it will be on?"

"Mine?"

"Wrong," the leader said glaringly. "It'll be on mine. They'll come for me. They'll yell that I'm a bad leader, and attempt to overthrow me, if not outright kill me. But you're also right, in a way. If something like that does happen, especially if it hurts me or my family, then it is on you. And it won't be the people that will come for you. It will be me. As long as I still breath, I will find a way to exact my revenge. And I'm not just going to kill you, no, no. I'm going to torture you. I'm going to hurt you worse than anyone ever will be able to again. After I'm done, you will _want_ to die, you will _beg me_ to kill you."

Kevin stared at the man before him, seeing him in a completely different light. Jim had always been cold, but he had never been this threatening. He had never openly voiced something like this to him, and Kevin felt paralyzed. He was taken aback, and suddenly very afraid of the man he once considered a friend.

"But of course," the plump man grinned and sat back in his chair, making it creak, "this is all hypothetical. I don't believe you have anything to worry about right now. These people seem menacing, but not deadly. For now, you're gonna walk out of this room unharmed. And you're not going to reiterate a word of this, if you know what's good for you. Like I said, this is about protection. This is about keeping the people safe. If anyone is harmed, you know better than anyone that you would deserve what's coming to you. And isn't this kind of me? If we didn't keep this job of your's on the D.L., you would be the one everyone would bum-rush! Instead, I'm willing to take the fall for you. It's because I care about you. And I care about this community."

Kevin shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot and gave Jim a nod, acknowledging his leader's words and trying to accept them.

"I'm glad you understand," Jim nearly laughed. "Now get outta here, Kev. You've got work to do."

* * *

><p><em>Surprise! I'm back! Although, this is much later than I intended on returning with the story. Nevertheless, I'm back, and so is the story, just in time for Fear The Walking Dead to begin. Two more chapters will be posted throughout the weekend, so stay tuned!<em>


	54. Chapter 54: Repitition

**Chapter 54 "Repetition"  
>Day 267<strong>

Selenis walked into the kitchen, ready to start the day with some of Lyrik and Tavia's homemade pancakes. It was going to be a long day, and she wanted to start it off well with her favorite breakfast.

She walked into the room, disregarding those sitting at the tables as she made a beeline for the cafeteria counter where Lyrik and Jessica stood ready to help make plates.

"Thank you girls," Selenis grinned with joy as Lyrik handed her a plate she had made just for the admirable older woman.

"Of course," Lyrik and Jessica said in unison.

The Latina turned, feeling better already, and spotted a familiar face eating at a table. She grabbed a seat right next to Gabriel and gave him a heartfelt grin.

Things had changed between the two of them since Gabriel had returned, but it was understandable. Nothing lasts forever, and bonds are not always strengthened by distance. Often, they fade away if it lasts for too long. Thankfully, Selenis and Gabriel still shared a bond, and still cared immensely for one another; they just simply are not as close and do not get along as well as they once had.

"How are you doing today?" Gabriel asked kindly, wiping syrup off of his mouth.

"I'm good," the woman sighed and smiled to the others at their table, giving a nod to Axel, Merle, and Sutan. Merle glared at Sutan when he smiled back, but Sutan mostly brushed it off. "I have a feeling it won't last long, though."

"Why not?" Gabriel asked, and Selenis was met with caring eyes across the table.

"Firstly, Runae wants me to help take care of the kids, because her spine's been killing her for the last few days. When the parents decide to show up, I have to go help Kevin with some things. On top of it all, I have wall duty today."

"Damn," Gabriel said, slightly shocked. "Are you always this busy?"

"Not really, but it happens."

"You're kidding," Axel responded, awkwardly inserting himself into the conversation.

"Uh," Selenis laughed at him, "I'm not."

"They must really trust you," Gabriel stated before swallowing a mouthful of pancake.

"I suppose so," Selenis shrugged. "I think they trust me just as much as anyone else."

The Mexican man nodded and held his tongue, opting not to voice his idea that his new group was being treated differently. Though certain members like Sierra, Kelly, and Xavier were held in high regard, others like himself, Merle, Axel, Sutan, and Soren were overlooked and disregarded, or treated as if they were much less important or trustable.

"You all feeling good today?" the Latina asked, trying to be considerate.

Sutan and Merle nodded nonchalantly, almost as if they hadn't heard her. Axel let out a loud yell of joy, followed by a gleeful "Yes ma'am!" Soren, Gabriel, Dillon, and Amanda B. all laughed at the man and gave Selenis acknowledging gestures that they were on the same page as him, even if it was a bit of a lie.

* * *

><p>Bella walked down the sidewalk, pushing her young son in a stroller in front of her. She walked joyfully, enjoying the world around her and the beautiful day, the sun finally coming back out again after two long weeks of clouds.<p>

She made it to the Governor's Estates and pushed the gate open, continuing on through the neighborhood. The houses there were beautiful and large. They were clearly well-groomed by the rich people that once inhabited the area. There were about twenty-five total houses within the estates, and nearly ten of them were empty, remaining as such since the members of the group who once lived in them had died.

At the end of the block, Bella had made it to her destination. It was one of the smaller houses in the neighborhood, but it was still a gorgeous home that was beautifully designed, painted, and decorated.

The door opened wide when she approached, held open by a bald black woman with a large smile on her face.

"What took you so long?" she asked, a smile on her face, but her voice clearly impatient.

"I'm sorry, Auntie," Bella brushed it off. "I got tied up with Angel here."

Auntie bent over and pinched the toddler's cheek, but he swatted it away and cried, "Owwwwwww!"

"He's so precious," the elder woman said. "Come on in, y'all. You're family now."

Bella pushed the stroller inside and turned it to the side before grabbing her young son out of it and carrying him into the kitchen, where Tavis stood cooking over the stove.

"Hey, baby," Tavis kissed her as she approached. "We just got all of your stuff unpacked. And dinner should be ready in just a few minutes."

"You're too good to me," the teen grinned as she put Angel in a highchair to eat his dinner.

"Yes, we are," Auntie joked as she opened up the baby food and handed it to Bella.

* * *

><p>Olga sat at her kitchen table, stroking her small baby bump. It was quiet, silent. The room was empty, and she was alone. She sighed, keeping her head down as she stared at her belly. Blackness clouded the edges of her mind, doubt and fear and depression. A loud, unpleasant male scream could be heard in the distance.<p>

Afraid, she pulled her head up and snapped back into reality. She met her eyes with Greyson and Robert, who were looking at her with concern.

"Are you okay?" Greyson asked, placing his fork on his plate and beginning to stand.

"You just kinda...left us," Robert stated, putting his silverware down, as well.

Olga jumped with slight fear as she felt a hand grab her shoulder tenderly, and she turned to see her housemate Britney looking at her inquisitively.

"I'm fine," the pregnant woman laughed, brushing them all off. "Really guys, I'm fine, I just got lost in thought for a second."

"You sure?" Greyson asked, half-standing from his seat. Robert and Britney's eyes shot confidence into Olga, and she nodded.

"Yeah," she grinned and picked her silverware back up, "we're good. What were we talking about?"

* * *

><p>Kelly walked quietly alone into the administration building to see Tracey, Jim's secretary, who had asked to see her.<p>

"Hello," Tracey called joyfully to the barely-purple-haired girl as she walked in, filling the mostly empty room with her voice.

Slightly taken aback by her jubilance, Kelly stuttered a "Good evening," to her.

"Kelly, I wanted to talk to you about your job."

"I don't have one," Kelly confounded.

"I know," the secretary nodded as she found a paper and handed it to her. "One of the new recruits from last week gave us the idea of having a crafting group. Mostly, it's knitting and sewing, but it sounds like something you might enjoy."

Kelly nodded perplexedly, taking slight offense to the woman's words. "I'm...I can handle being a scavenger or wall duty."

"Oh," Tracey said, her eyes growing wide, "no, no, I didn't mean anything like that. I'm sure you can handle yourself perfectly fine, I just thought you might like something that allows for more creativity. You don't have to take the job, it was just a suggestion."

"Ah," the young woman laughed under her breath. "So, what, they just sit around and play arts and crafts? Knit like old women?"

"Of course not," Tracey smiled, sensing frustration. "Joshua, who runs it, is super fun. He just set everything up the other day, and he asked for things like an MP3 player, and speakers, and he decorated it all beautifully. And it's not just knitting, but it's mostly creating stuff for the community to use. They're making clothes, jewelry, and even handy things like pencil holders and backpacks."

"Pencil holders?"

"Oh, come on," Tracey laughed. "The room's the fifth door on the right down that hall there. Just go in, take a look. Wait for Joshua if you're not sure. He should be here in about ten minutes."

Kelly bit her lips and shifted on her feet.

"Please?" Tracey asked in one last desperate attempt.

"Fine," Kelly shrugged. "But no promises. If it looks dumb, I'm gonna work on a more productive job."

"This job's pretty product-"

"Pencil holders," the younger woman interrupted.

Tracey held back a giggle and conceded. "Okay, whatever."

Kelly smiled slightly and went down the hall, counting the doors until she found the fifth one. She turned the knob and entered to see Terrance at a sewing machine, making a simple pink top. His head shot up to her, his face turning red in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry," Kelly quickly said before noticing the man was in a wheelchair. "I didn't know anyone was in here." She closed the door and looked back down the hallway, hoping to shoot Tracey an angry glare. To her disappointment, the secretary was not visible from where she stood.

"It's okay," the man shouted from inside the room. "You can come in, I'm sorry."

Kelly opened the door back up and let out a sigh as she realized how awkward the situation had just become. She reentered wordlessly.

"I didn't mean to make you feel like you did something wrong. I just wasn't expecting anyone to come in."

"I'm sorry," Kelly said, giving the man a kind smile and trying to avoid looking at the wheelchair. She instead focused on the room, getting a good look at the projects others were working on and the overall feel of the room. She hadn't noticed that "Love Is Like A Butterfly" by Dolly Parton was playing lightly in the background. She also didn't notice that in the farthest corner from her was a thin, young man with a mohawk and dark, tired eyes was working silently on what appeared to be a pair of pants. She made awkward eye contact, and he instantly looked away from her. Trying to turn her focus away from him, her eyes locked on a beautiful silk purple dress lying on a table in front of her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Terrance chuckled. "That's Joshua's. He's a really talented kid."

"How did you guys get silk on such short notice?"

"Well, they've had the fabric lying around in a storeroom for a long time now. Tracey's roommate Belinda made them keep the stuff because she likes to make quilts and things. So, we just brought out everything when this was all set up."

"Did you guys raid a fabric store for these?"

"Actually, yes," Terrance laughed. "A lot of the older people insisted that they were vital for our survival. Can't say I disagree."

Just as Kelly picked up the purple dress, the door opened and a tall black man entered the room. He had dreads and a red hat with studs on it, and looked like a gangster.

"Kelly?" he asked, revealing a very deep voice and terrible teeth.

"Yeah," she replied hesitantly. Instinctively, she wanted to grab for a gun, but resisted it like Xavier had begged her to. Giving the community a shot was very big for him. "Joshua?"

"Yes, ma'am," he smiled at her. "Sorry it took me so long," he said to Terrance and the man in the back, "You all good back there, Kevin-O," he asked the mohawked stranger, saying the word as if it was all his first name. The strange kid gave a kurt nod. "Good. I was with Alice and Adrian, so...you know," he laughed and Terrance gave him a suggestive wink and big grin. "So you decided you want in?" he asked the brunette-rooted girl.

"Not yet," she said, putting the dress back down. "Sorry for messing with your dress."

"That's fine," he said and stood next to her to pick the garment back up. He held it to his body as his eyes lit up at the potential he saw in it. "How does it look?"

"On you?" Kelly asked, confused in the man's actions.

"Well, I mean, I guess. In general."

"It looks beautiful. I used to own something kinda like that, but I only wore it once. It was too precious to me to risk ruining it."

"Sounds like you love clothes," Joshua grinned. "Why haven't you decided if you want to do this or not?"

"Well," she shrugged, "is making pretty dresses really helping the community?"

"It's making sure they're not naked," the creative man chuckled.

"But is it helping them stay alive? Protecting them and their kids? Or even testing their skills, teaching them how to survive in case this place goes down?"

"No," Joshua shrugged. "But it is helping them stay sane. Giving them things to do and to occupy their minds, like Belinda and Runae. It gives them an escape. And to everyone not involved here, they get new things. Terrance here is making a gift for his wife, Tina. He's spreading happiness, and helping to keep morale high. It helps them feel like everything's fine and normal again, and that they're getting treats. Really, don't they deserve a treat?"

"I suppose so," Kelly said, a smile forming weakly on her face at the idea of making others happy, and ideas were popping into her head of things to make for her friends.

"So are you in?"

Kelly looked to Terrance, who gave her an inviting smile.

"Yeah, of course."


	55. Chapter 55: Prison

**Chapter 55 "Prison"**

**Day 300**

Shawn slammed the door shut behind him, an apple in his hand and a bounce in his step. It was a sunny, beautiful day and the farmboy felt good about it. He was on his way to get prepared for a run. Today, they would be going into the heart of Little Rock, attempting desperately to get the remaining supplies from the city as resources elsewhere ran low.

He arrived at the walls within fifteen minutes, having thrown the core of his apple off into grass on the side of the road after eating most of it. Xavier, Roger, Mark, and Ken moved around the two large vehicles they planned to use for that day, getting their supplies in order and going over their plans.

One of the planned vehicles was their heavy-duty truck, devotedly taken care of and upgraded by the hardest-working scavengers and hunters. It was big and black, with orange, red, and yellow accents and armor decorating it. The truck was designed to successfully run through and decimate a small herd. The other vehicle was a simple, sleek white car for backup in case they needed a quick escape.

"There you are!" Roger exclaimed upon seeing Shawn. "I almost thought you weren't coming."

"What, you thought I'd miss the most exciting run we've ever done?"

"Yeah," the scavengers' leader laughed. "I thought you might'a let everyone fill you with doubt and worry, hopefully scare you shitless of going into the city."

"I went into it once and we were fine," Shawn shrugged and was thankful no one he had been in the RV with at that time was around to object.

"Good," Roger laughed. "Maybe you're a good luck charm."

"Maybe I am, smartass."

* * *

><p>Jim sat at his desk, puzzled, as he flipped through his records. He looked through all of his documents and was beginning to realize a trend. As time went on, the frequency and amount of new people in the last few months was on a steady decrease.<p>

Near the beginning of the end, groups of nine or more were not uncommon, and they might show up nearly every week. Now, getting just five within two weeks was a miracle. The largest group to arrive in the past two months was Joshua's, a group of five. Before that was Sierra's group, and before that, Shawn's.

"Tracey," Jim yelled to his door.

"Yes?" Tracey opened the door not long after and peeked her head in.

"Is Kevin busy right now?"

"I believe so," she claimed and looked back to her desk, hoping to get a good look at her schedule.

"Doing what?"

"Just a sec," the blonde begged and waddled to her desk. "Medic duty," she yelled to her leader after viewing her schedule.

"Great," Jim sighed, knowing he would likely be busy. "Are Rosa or Esmeralda on duty?"

"Yup. Both."

"Fuck," the leader moaned in frustration. "Well, send somebody over there and tell him he needs to get over here as soon as he's done training those two putas sucias. I'm not sure he's taking his _real_ job seriously enough."

"Do you want me to keep that part in?"

"What part?"

"The part where you called them dirty whores."

"_Of course not!_"

* * *

><p>Shawn walked through a trashed room, furniture overturned and aged garbage rotting across the floor. There was the odd dried blood stain, likely from a walker being clumsy, on every other wall. A corner in the side of the room was clearly designated for bodily waste, human feces sitting on newspaper, soaked in urine and creating a foul odor that made the farmboy want to vomit.<p>

He had been left alone as the group separated in the building tall building, which clearly once served as a refuge for some people after the world ended. Shawn moved to a window and looked out at the scene of the city. The tallest building in Little Rock was blackened and charred. There was a large hole near the top which spanned across nearly five floors. It looked as if an explosive went off from inside of the building, nearly decimating the whole structure. It seemed to be a miracle that it still stood tall.

The lone Greene turned from the window and sighed, seeing the disaster and feeling the hopelessness wrought by the walkers. Life could not continue in a world like this, and Shawn would nearly be convinced that the whole world was screwed if it was not for what he found in West Little Rock.

As he took a step he heard a sharp creak. At first he thought it was his own step, but he realized that the sound came from elsewhere in the building. He let out a quiet sigh, irritated by another walker in this infested building. For the past three floors, however, he had found none, likely due to a few huge broken windows, and he was quite thankful for that.

He stepped toward the noise slowly and silently, his machete at the ready. He turned through an open doorway, finding a dull white room brightly illuminated by a large open window. A rope made of stained sheets hung out of the window, tightly tied around a support beam in the middle of the room. Shawn recalled seeing the same rope outside of the windows of the other floors, often next to open windows, and he cursed himself for not thinking much of it before then.

Putting the pieces together, he realized the sound was likely not from a walker and he readied his pistol, moving his blade to his left hand.

He made it to the only other door in the room making as little noise as possible. His weapons prepared, he stood at the side of the portal and took a breath to collect his nerves and listen for more sounds.

Despite hearing no further noises, he quickly turned and shoved the door open, instantly yelling "Hands up!"

Shockingly, the stranger he had heard already had his hands up. He was tall, with a long, scraggly brown beard with graying hairs. He wore an old trucker's hat and had a mustache that made him look like a hideous extra from a vintage pornographic movie. The mysterious stranger was dressed in a ragged green trench coat, and looked overall like a generic homeless person.

Noticing Shawn's upturned eyebrow, the man half-smiled. "Not as stealthy as you thought, are you, kid?"

Shawn shrugged it off and attempted to use what he had seen and heard from the recruiters. This was the second time they had found people on a run since he had arrived at West Little Rock, but it was the first time that he was the one up front doing the talking.

_Shit,_ Shawn fatally realized. _I didn't even let anybody else know about any of this. If he tries something, I'm fuckin' dead._

"Do you have any weapons on you right now?"

"I'd be a fool if I didn't," the stranger replied coldly, as if Shawn was an idiot.

"Can you show them all to me?"

"I 'spose," the man scoffed and pulled a crowbar out of the back of his pants, followed by a glock in either pocket. He then turned slightly to the side and showed off a large rifle with the sniper's scope clearly broken off fastened onto his body by a strap.

"How long have you been here?" Shawn then asked, taking note of every fact about the man.

"Right here? About a week. This building, though? Many months."

"How've you been eating?"

The man paused for a moment before saying, "I get by." For a few moments of tense silence, the man shiftily looking around the room before locking eyes with a pile of emptied cans of food. He then gestured to it, and Shawn looked to them before nodding.

"Do you have a name?"

The man looked away from the cans and met Shawn's eyes. "It's Kenny."

* * *

><p>Caleb sat in his living room, indignantly scratching his belly as he absent-mindedly skimmed an old fashion magazine. The images and words meant very little to him, and his mind was a blur as he simply tried to pass the time. He looked up to the clock on his wall and smiled. Finally, five in the afternoon. It was time. He rose from his seat and made his way to the fridge.<p>

He pulled out a large plate of cheesecake and dug in, joyfully partaking in his favorite treat — treats! It was no secret that the big man loved his sweets, and he made quick haste of vacuuming the large pastry.

Half-way through his feast, there was a knock at the front door and he scrambled to wipe the crumbs off of himself and his surroundings before quickly shoving the cake back into his fridge and speed-walking to answer the door. To his delight, it was Karen, who stood in the hallway of his apartment.

"Hey, babe!" he chuckled and pulled her into a kiss.

She laughed into his embrace and they exited the hall, their kiss continuing into Caleb's livingroom. Picking up the smell of the room and the taste in Caleb's mouth, Karen broke the kiss for a moment.

"Have you been eating that cheesecake again?"

Caleb guiltily shrugged. "I couldn't help it."

Karen laughed and poked his nose with her finger. "That's okay. I'm just glad you like my cooking, sugar bear."

"You know I love it when you call me that."

"You know I love _you."_

The two kissed passionately again, this time Caleb's hands wandering. Despite trying not to, Karen pulled away a bit and Caleb gave her pleading eyes.

"Please?" the large man asked. "Can we finally have our first?"

Karen blushed and stared at him intently. She realized how much she truly did care for him, and how badly he really wanted it, and she obliged, nodding happily as she shoved her tongue down his throat. Caleb picked her up and opened his bedroom door, slamming it shut as he tossed her excitedly onto his bed.

* * *

><p>It was very dark, the sun having set many hours ago. It was nearing midnight, and Boyd began to grow nervous. "You think they're alright?" the old black man asked.<p>

"Of course," Allan stated calmly, taking a sip of alcohol.

Boyd sat in silence, looking grimly down at the cards in his hands.

"Really, man?" the younger man asked irritatedly. "You know them, they're all just fine. Why wouldn't they be? Everyone out there right now is _skilled_. I personally know three of them, and they're awesome, capable guys."

"But this is the first time in ages they've gone into the city. We don't know how dangerous it is now."

"Trust me," Allan ginned with another gulp of moonshine, "they're _just fine_."

Right on cue, the familiar, large armored truck slowly pulled into the gates of West Little Rock, followed closely behind by the comparatively small white car. As the two men on wall duty opened the gates, they parked in their usual spots, and Allan gave his older companion a condescending look.

Mark, Roger, and Xavier jumped out of the large vehicle, beginning to unload their intake of supplies, which was quite large

Boyd and Allan looked to one another, slightly confused, as the people in the white car did not move at all. Looking through the windows, it appeared that Shawn sat in the passenger's seat, facing the backseat and talking to someone the duo could not see from their high position on the wall.

"Hey, assholes!" Roger yelled up to them. "We got a newbie."

Allan nodded his head, suddenly understanding it all. "See?" the young white man assumed, patting Boyd on the back. "That's what took 'em so long."

Finally, Shawn stepped out of the car, followed by the driver, Ken. The farmboy stood awkwardly by the car for a moment before opening Kenny's door for him.

"You alright?" Shawn asked the new recruit.

Kenny wordlessly nodded, obviously clamming up and becoming nervous as he observed the large community. He saw the long street leading to many large apartment buildings on the left, and a beautiful neighborhood with huge houses on the right. Many of the homes had their lights on, and the small town was thriving with life.

"Welcome to prison," Shawn joked. "I'm sorry. I know, it takes a while to get used to. And don't worry about forgetting names, I still do that sometimes. Everyone'll understand."

As Kenny remained wordless, something seemed off. The farmboy frowned, interpreting the strangeness as fear and confusion.

"I promise you, man," Shawn said, putting a hand on Kenny's shoulder. The stranger jumped slightly, and locked eyes with the farmboy. Despite jumping, his face did not have fear in it. "You're safe here. Nobody's gonna hurt you. This community was built to keep people like you — like us — safe."


	56. Chapter 56: Volunteers Ain't Sinners

**Chapter 56 "Volunteers Ain't Sinners"**

**Day 305**

"You know," Jim said angrily to Kevin, "I'm growing very frustrated."

"At me?" Kevin asked indignantly.

"Yes," the leader said seethingly, but turned his face down to his desk, staring at the documents before him. "But it isn't just you. It's everything. We're getting so few people now, and I'm worried there might be a point where we don't get any. And then we'll be stuck."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we'll have hit the bottom. We'll have very little reason to expand, and we'll be weak."

"I don't know about that," the cowboy shrugged. "We got lots of kids and babies 'round here. We're gonna keep growing."

"But slowly. And while we wait for the brats to get big enough to know the difference between a gun and a knife, we're vulnerable."

Kevin raised a brow. "Can I say somethin'?"

Jim looked up at his right-hand man in confusion, but ended up being quite impressed that he was becoming so obedient. "Fine."

"I think you're being real paranoid. We've got plenty people, we've got happy families, and we ain't had somebody die here in nearly two-hundred days. And that was just 'cause one of the older folks didn't tell us how bad their cancer really was."

"And it's a miracle that you were there to check on him that morning, or else someone else might have found him as a walker and this whole place would be gone. I don't think you get the gravity of this situation. Any person could keel over at any moment and, best case scenario, result in the death of probably five people. Where does that leave us?"

"Weaker."

"Exactly! So it's what?"

"My job to make sure everything runs smoothly," Kevin replied robitically.

"There you go."

"But, does that actually relate? People can be comfortable, but that doesn't stop them from unexpectedly dying."

"No, but it keeps their minds off of it."

"Is...is that what we really want, though? Shouldn't we be training them how to deal with that kind of stuff? Or at least the people who work patrol and wall duty?"

Jim sat in his chair, furiously rubbing his temples. "Okay, look, they already know what to do. That's their basic training. Whatever, look. My point is: this all falls on you in the end."

"I know…" Kevin sighed, annoyed by this repeated threat.

"I don't think you do. What I'm saying is, if you want to keep everyone safe, you do it."

"Wait," the cowboy contemplated. "Are you making me leader?"

"No. I'm putting you in charge of this place's well-being."

"And...why is that?"

"You act like you know what's best, what to do, all that shit. You think you know how to lead, do it."

"So I'm the leader of WLR now?"

"No, you idiot. I'm still the leader; the position's still mine, and you still obey to me. To these people, I'm still the leader. All this means is, if shit goes wrong, it's now completely on your head."

"So...I do the work, you take the credit? You get all the perks, while I sit right where I am, working harder than ever." Jim nodded with a devious smile, waiting for Kevin to connect the rest of the dots. "But, if something goes wrong, you're gonna throw it all onto me?"

"There you go! You're not the dumbass redneck I once thought you to be. You can do some thinkin' here, can't you?"

Kevin was boiling with rage beneath the surface, wanting so badly to harm the man he once called a friend.

"Now run along, partner. Sounds like you've got some cattle to herd."

* * *

><p>Tracey sat at her desk, doodling in an old notebook that had clearly been around for years. The figure she drew appeared to be of a young boy in dark blue sitting in a school, surrounded by empty desks. Despite the gloom around the image, it still seemed quite happy, and the boy in the drawing seemed to be delighted. It was an odd juxtaposition.<p>

Pulling her attention from the piece, Kevin speed-walked past her desk, clearly in a rush. She looked back toward Jim's office to see the door slowly shutting as he leaned back in his chair, looking content, yet angry.

The secretary had the urge to go after Kevin, or at least to call out to him, but she knew it would not be a good idea. Jim would not be pleased with her. On top of it, there were people around, and she did not want anything about the private affairs in West Little Rock leaking to the public.

Sighing helplessly, Tracey put her head back down and looked at her work. She stared at it, attempting to mentally continue, but could not think of anything pleasing to add to it. She shrugged, having lost her inspiration, and decided it might as well be complete. She titled it "Clay" and closed the notebook just as two Hispanic women approached her desk.

"Hello, ladies," Tracey smiled to them. "Rosa and...Emerald, right?"

"Esmeralda," the younger, plumper girl replied flatly.

"Excuse me. It's a beautiful name."

"Thank you," Esmeralda smiled as genuinely as she could muster, but still could not do convincingly.

"What can I do for you two?" Tracey asked, remaining friendly and maintaining eye contact.

"Well," Rosa began, "we just wanted to know if you had anymore towels, and sheets, and things."

"Oh," Tracey said, expecting a job inquiry, "uh, yeah. The first door on the left there's where we keep all of our toiletries, and the washer and drier."

"Gracias," the gray-haired Hispanic woman smiled and turned down the hall, Esmeralda right in tow.

Tracey smiled, happy to see the women beginning to open up more. They had been here a whole month, but barely spoke to anyone other than the people they arrived here with. Who were they again? the secretary asked herself.

She rolled backwards from her desk and opened a drawer, pulling out a large binder. She opened it and grabbed a yellow notebook. After flipping through the pages quickly, she found the page she was looking for. It was a messy page, with simple scrawlings made for different groups. They were separated by boxes, and some names had special symbols or underlines that all meant different things. The page was titled "New People Cheat Sheet" in Tracey's beautiful handwriting.

"December twenty-first," she said under her breath and inwardly frowned as she thought once again about how their dates may be way off, "Dylan and Dalton, no… January second, the Asian couple… January eleventh, Sierra's group… February sixth… There it is! Rosa's group, February twentieth. Oh, duh: Joshua; then Rosa, Esmer, and Theresa and Meghan. Of course. Geez, how did Joshua handle being the only guy?"

Rosa and Esmeralda closed the door to the storeroom, the sound bringing Tracey's attention back to the world around her. As she looked up, she realized that Kenny, who sat silently in a seat near her desk, had heard every word she said to herself as he looked back down to the old magazine in his hands subtly. Tracey cursed herself for not even realizing he had been there the entire time.

"Come back anytime," she called kindly to the two women while not breaking her stare at the grayed new man. He did not even flinch, continuing his reading innocently.

* * *

><p>Hours later, Kenny walked down the street toward his home, his hands deep in his pockets as he shuffled contently along the pavement. He earned a few stares from people whose homes he passed, but he seemed to not even notice.<p>

As he approached his home, he saw the figure of a familiar man; one he had pegged to be quite important in the community. It was Kevin, who smiled upon making eye contact with the man of similar age.

"Hey, Kenny!" Kevin greeted, extending a hand to shake.

Kenny stopped in his tracks and stared at the cowboy's hand. He remained wordless, and just as he nearly pulled his hand out to reluctantly shake, Kevin put it down with an understanding smile.

"I'm sorry, man," he apologized to Kenny, "I shouldn'ta done that. Everyone opens up at their own pace, I didn't mean to make you feel like you had to do something you didn't want to."

The new man nodded, his face remaining slightly scornful.

Resting bitch-face, I guess, Kevin thought to himself. He looked behind him to Kenny's door and grinned back to the man. "I don't mean to keep you outta your home, but I just needed to talk to ya. Jim — you know, the leader — has honestly been gettin' a few...complaints — wait, maybe that's the wrong word. Point is, between us, a few o' the people 'round here are a bit scared a'ya."

Kenny nodded, giving a slight shrug and resisting the urge to smile.

"Now, I'm sure there's nothin' to worry about with you. But I think it might go well if you get a job, be around some people, get to know 'em, and show 'em you ain't that bad. 'Cause right now, just bein' as honest as I can, a few people want you out."

"Which ones?" Kenny asked bluntly.

"I'm afraid I can't tell ya," Kevin suspiciously laughed. "But take my word. Like I said, I'm sure yer' not a big bad villain, but ya gotta let people see that. Jobs are optional here, but it'd prolly be best if ya get one. Fer yer sake. Be friendly an' all. I hope five days was enough time for you te rest."

The helpful cowboy looked through his pockets and pulled out a piece of paper with the list of all the jobs available in the community on it. Kenny finally took a hand out of a pocket and eyed the list.

"Just look it over, think about it. It's yer choice, but this is a democracy. If the people think yer' a threat, we may have to get you gone."

Kenny was already crossing off many of the jobs, deeming them too stupid or annoying for him to participate in. He gave a curt nod, expecting Kevin to finally leave.

"Also," Kevin gave one last bit of advice, "you might want to say you volunteered for this. Keep me and Jim out of it, say you wanted to help around town. Remember: volunteers ain't sinners," the cowboy laughed and waved goodbye.

Kenny looked down at the list and angrily crumpled it up, throwing it into a trash can as he entered his house.


	57. Ch57: The Apocalypse Didn't Just Go Away

**Chapter 57 "The Apocalypse Didn't ****Just Go Away"**

**Day 362**

Lyrik bounced happily around the kitchen, washing her hands as music playing lightly throughout the house. She was dressed in her favorite pink dress, sewn especially for her by Joshua, who she had grown quite close to in the last two months.

Robert soon came down the stairs, dressed only in a black silk robe, another of Joshua's creations for Lyrik. He had caught ear of the music and didn't want to miss out on the party his best friend seemed to be having.

"I'm here with all of my people," they both gleefully sang along with the music. Lyrik turned around, frightened. She had not expected Robert to be awake, let alone behind her singing along to the music.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized to the white boy, "I didn't mean to wake you up."

"No, no, you didn't," he laughed, dancing to the music as he grabbed an apple.

"Grab me one, too, please?"

Robert tossed the young chef a crisp red apple and moved to the living room, continuing his awkward 'dancing.'

"When you going to work?"

"I was just about to," she replied, turning from the sink and flicking water off of the apple she had just wrinsed. For the first time, she caught sight of Robert's frantic movements that he considered dancing and she burst into laughter. "I thought Greyson was showing you how to dance?"

"He is!" Robert put a hand to his chest in mock offense.

"He must not be that good," Lyrik laughed and moved toward Robert, imitating her friend's gesticulation.

The male couldn't help but laugh as he realized just how terrible his dancing truly was. "Nah, I'm just a bad student."

"Clearly," Lyrik said, then began to actually dance to the song. "I'm here with all of my people," she sang, moving her body quickly yet seductively in tune with the music. "Locked up with all of my people~ So let me hear you scream if you're with me!"

Robert stood with his hands on his hips, offended. "I hate you."

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful," she grinned.

"I don't. I hate you because you're terrible."

Lyrik laughed, pretending to slap her friend. She stopped dancing and headed towards the door. "I'll see you in a few hours. Happy Mother's Day!"

* * *

><p>Patricia and Mike entered the cafeteria earlier than the Mother's Day party was scheduled for, but not on accident. Mike's youngest daughter was currently in school, and his other one was here helping to cook everything for the party.<p>

"Dad!" Jessica called happily. "You're early. Where's Alana?""

"I know," he grinned then looked to Patricia. "She's still at chool. Patricia here thought we should come help you, though."

The old blonde grinned and elbowed her boyfriend in the ribs.

"Oomph," he coughed, then looked to her. "Oh! I mean, 'we.'"

Everyone chuckled at the pair and they entered the kitchen. Mike kissed his daughter on the forehead as he entered the kitchen and she stuck her tongue out in mock disgust.

The elder couple proved to actually be quite a big help in the process, especially Patricia, who loved cooking.

"You should consider joining us," Tavia casually said to the woman. "You'd definitely be a big help, and we'd love to have you around. Right, y'all?"

The cooks, Lyrik, Jessica, and Kyle all praised the elderly woman, and she couldn't help but smile as she stirred the cupcake batter. "I'll think about it," she laughed. "Want me to dump that?" Patricia asked as the head chef finished washing the dishes.

"I'd appreciate it."

The old woman struggled to pick up the large container full of heavy dish water, but insisted she had it. Unbeknownst to them, Kenny had entered the cafeteria and was silently watching them from afar.

As Patricia headed to the backdoor, she tripped and dropped the bucket of dishwater, nearly falling over in it as well. Tavia and Mike rushed to her side to make sure she was okay and to help clean.

Kenny grinned and took his opportunity. He moved quickly and quietly and peeked into the kitchen. All of the chefs who remained in their place seemed sufficiently distracted by their individual tasks. Kenny surveyed the nearest counter for something good to use for his plan. He spotted a bowl of batter, but for what, he was unsure.

Stealthily, he unscrewed the cap to a small bottle he had concealed in his trenchcoat and reached around the doorway to pour it into the mixture. It seemed to blend in well enough, but just to be sure, he carefully mixed it in, keeping an eye on everyone as best as he could. Before anyone noticed what he had done, he was already out of the door.

* * *

><p>It was nighttime now. The community seemed empty, scarcely any people around. The streets were dark, and only people on wall duty remained. Everyone else was at the Mother's Day party, celebrating with their friends and loved ones and enjoying all of the delicious foods made specially for the occasion.<p>

The only ones who didn't come were either physically unable to, mentally unable to, had other obligations, or had no reason to show up. Thus, Kenny was around at the party. Of course, it was almost as if he was not, simply because he seemed to refuse talking with others. He sat in a corner on an old, metal chair, silently drinking a bottle of Mike's homemade moonshine. Everyone noticed him, but only the bravest dared talk to him. Kevin had attempted to coerce the loner into joining in on the party, but simply got a solemn shake of the head and an excuse that his feet hurt. Jim had made eye contact, and often looked over to make sure he was still present. Despite recent claims that Kenny had actually been _friendly_ and _helpful_ — words that certainly did not come to Jim's mind immediately upon thinking about Kenny — he held onto the belief that Kenny was a threat.

Kenny could not help but grin when he caught people staring at him, laughing inwardly at them. _Joke's on you,_ he thought to himself as he ironically lifted his bottle in a sign of cheers to someone who he had locked eyes with. Thankfully, most people interpreted his smiles as being friendly. The general consensus seemed to be that he was actually quite a nice guy, but having been outside alone for so long had hardened him, and he had a hard time socializing now. Of course, most of this is rumor that had spread with the help of people like Olga, Patricia, Beth, and Kelly, who believed in giving him the benefit of the doubt.

The loner subtly looked over to the snack bar every chance he got, and he had it narrowed down to two dishes. He had put his liquid into either the pink cupcakes or the lemon cake, but he was unsure which it was, as the batter was yellow, but could easily have been dyed pink. He hoped it was the cupcakes, simply because of the irony he found in it. Cupcakes were the last thing he ate before the outbreak. On top of it, he had them with his wife.

He pushed the memory out of his head, shaken by the thought of his wife. He focused instead on where the food was going to. He couldn't keep his eyes glued to the pastries, or else it would become apparent to those staring at him why he was when the secret ingredient kicked in the day after. This of course meant that he missed quite a few of the people who would grab some of the food and walk off. It was also difficult to see everything that people were grabbing when there was a significant crowd around it. However, he had noticed Rosa grab both a cupcake and a slice of cake, and he grinned as he mentally marked one confirmed person onto his list.

A shaggy-haired teenager grabbed two cupcakes and took them to his mother, but she refused hers, rubbing her stomach. Instead, he gave it to his younger sister, who had long, beautiful blonde braids.

Kenny witnessed Mark grab a cupcake before moving into the crowd. Shawn cut off a large slice of cake and sat it before Patricia, who gave him a warm smile, surrounded by her family of the Greene siblings, Mika, Malcolm, Mike, and his family. Seth nearly went for a slice of cake, but opted instead for a kebab before going to stand next to Taylor, irritating Kenny.

Tina rolled her crippled husband over to the table after having a long conversation with Alexandra, and Terrance instantly pointed to the cupcakes. She moved him closer and they both grabbed one, toasted, intertwined their arms, and dug in.

Robert cut off three slices of cake, one very thin one for himself and two of average sizes, then carried the plate back to his table, where he sat with Greyson and Olga. "Happy Mother's Day," Kenny could hear the two boys say in unison to her before giving her a big hug. The loner's stomach turned and he wanted to gag.

As the night went on, he did his best to remember who ate what, but it became more and more difficult to remember, let alone to pay attention as he grew tired. He cursed the comfortable bed he had been spoiled to. Despite the exhaustion, though, he stirred with excitement. This is the moment he had been waiting for. This is what he had sucked up to everyone so long for. Tomorrow, he would finally start having fun behind these walls.

When most of the room had emptied, Kenny rose from his seat and shook Jim's hand, then bid him goodnight. As he exited, he noted with pleasure that the entire cake had been eaten, and only four of the total thirty cupcakes were left.

* * *

><p><em>Officially, no more promises. Chapters will come when they come. I'm sorry for that, but life has ramped up immensely, and I don't have much time for this story. My only promise is that I know how this story ends, and the end <em>will_ come._


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